Into The Goal
by Mi ChIbO
Summary: Ulrich is spotted by the principal of a sports school...in America! His father has agreed to the principal's question as to whether Ulrich could attend. So he moves to the US. Many years later, he meets his friends again. What will happen?
1. So Many Tears

**Okay, I've been writing this for about three months and am just now putting it up. Plz read my note on the bottom. It's realllll important…jk. It's not really. I don't own Code Lyoko, or anything else that happens to be something in real life. Enjoy. Remember, this is one of THIRTEEN different stories I'm writing at the moment, so bear with me… or blame me. I get too many ideas… heehee. ANYwho… here you go:**

-Into the Goal-

Ulrich kicked the soccer ball. It soared through the air, over the heads of the opposing team, and into the goal. The crowd went wild. Well, the Kadic part of the crowd. The referee blew his whistle signaling the end of the soccer match. Ulrich's teammates high-fived him and went to shake hands with the other team. It was a great game, in Kadic's favor, 21 to 14. When Ulrich finished shaking hands with the Wolf Creek team, he went over to the bench and grabbed his water bottle. He opened the cap and poured it on himself, letting the cool water flow over his face and down his neck.

"You played a good game."

Ulrich turned and saw a man in a blue suit smiling down at him, "Thank you, sir."

The man offered his hand, "Peter Ramsey. I work in America. I own a school in Ohio that trains people to become star athletes. You've caught my eye. You see, every year, we give away five scholarships. I was hoping that you might be able to come and train."

"I'm…Ulrich Stern," Ulrich took Mr. Ramsey's hand and shook it, processing all this. He didn't want to be famous. He already had to save the world from XANA!

"Now, son. If you'll give me your phone number, I'll call later."

"But…I-I don't want to-" he was cut off as the man shoved a piece of paper and a pen at him. He sighed and took them. Writing down his home phone number, he gave it to Mr. Ramsey.

"Ah, thank you. You'll be a fine addition to my school," the man smiled and walked away. Ulrich groaned. He had given the man his parents' phone number. His dad was sure to say yes. He grabbed his towel and wiped off his face. _'What have I done?' _His friends ran up to him.

"We did it Ulrich!" Odd yelled, thrusting a fist in the air, "I mean, you did it!" Ulrich had to smile at Odd's enthusiasm.

"Good job, Ulrich!" Aelita said. Jeremy smiled and nodded. Yumi shivered.

"How can you not be cold? In shorts and a t-shirt?" Yumi asked, teeth chattering.

Ulrich shrugged. Yumi noticed he was a little off. She made a mental note to ask him what was wrong. She knew nobody else had noticed. Odd was too busy jumping up and down. Aelita and Jeremy were talking about the recent visit to Lyoko.

"Odd, I think you had too much caffeine," Yumi laughed.

"Nonsense!" said Odd, still jumping up and down like a maniac.

Yumi turned to Ulrich, "Come on. My dad said he'd drive us. That way, you won't be sitting in that gross bus."

Ulrich didn't even hear her. He was staring off into space.

Yumi waved a hand in front of his face, "Uh, Ulrich?" He didn't flinch. She took what was left of the water in his water bottle and splashed him with it.

"Ahhhh! What was that for?" he glared.

She rolled her eyes and smiled at him, "Come ON! My dad's going to drive us back to school." He grabbed his stuff and followed Yumi to her dad's car. He was silent the whole ride. Yumi stared at him. He just looked out the window. When they arrived at Kadic, Yumi got out of the car with Ulrich.

"Dad, I'm gonna stay here for dinner. Okay?"

Her dad smiled, "Okay sweetie. Have fun!" She watched the car drive off. Then she turned to Ulrich.

"Ulrich, what's wrong?" she asked.

He hesitated, looking at the ground "Yumi, I got a scholarship to a school that trains very good athletes, apparently like me," he adverted his eyes to the ground. Yumi placed a hand on his shoulder.

"That's great!"

"No, it's not."

"Why not?"

He kept his eyes on the ground. It was a while before he answered, "Yumi, the school's in America. Ohio, to be exact." Yumi felt as though she had been slapped. No Ulrich? It couldn't be true!

"Y-You're sure?" she asked weakly, dreading his response. He nodded solemnly. He started to cry. She hugged him, "It'll be okay."

"But what about XANA? And you…guys," he added the 'guys' quickly and blushed. She did too.

"I'll be fine. And so will the others."

"Yumi, don't tell them yet please," he pleaded.

She nodded. Now she was crying too. They stood there, awkwardly, for a moment. Yumi let go, _'He'll never feel the same way about me.'_ She thought. Little did she know, the same thoughts were running through Ulrich's head, too.

-That Night-

The phone rang next to Ulrich's bed. Sighing, the brunette picked it up and placed it to his ear, "Hi, dad."

"Hello, son! So, are you all packed?" asked Mr. Stern.

"What?" Packed? What did his dad mean?

"I talked to that fine fellow, Mr. Ramsey. I told him you would take the scholarship! He said he'd send a jet over at twelve. So you had better get packing!"

"Twelve? Tomorrow? But dad, I don't want that scholarship! I want to stay here, at Kadic!"

"Yes, tomorrow, son. You are taking that scholarship. Sorry, but Mr. Ramsey said there's no going back after this. Be ready to leave tomorrow. I'm driving up there to see you off. Oh yes, Mr. Ramsey said that somebody wanted you to do some modeling, now who was it? Ah, yes. Ms. Telerose. She owns a modeling agency. Mr. Ramsey took some pictures of you playing and she saw them. I said yes to her offer also."

"You WHAT?" Ulrich yelled.

"Be ready to leave tomorrow! Bye, son. I'm so proud of you!" his father exclaimed and hung up. Ulrich stared at the phone. He slammed it down.

"DANG IT!" he yelled. Collapsing on his bed, he screamed into a pillow.

"Ulrich?" Odd, who had been asleep, sat up and yawned, "What 'smatter?"

Ulrich sighed and got up, "Let's go get the others. They need to hear this too." He pulled out his cell phone and called Yumi as Odd went to get Jeremy and Aelita. Soon, the whole group was assembled in Ulrich and Odd's room.

Aelita turned to Ulrich, "What is it?" Ulrich told them. When he finished they were all at a loss for words. Except for Odd, of course.

"We'll throw a party! The principal should know about this by now. I'm sure he'll let us. We need to make your last day here the best one yet!" Odd grinned.

Jeremy perked up, "Before that, we can pull the plug on XANA! I've found Aelita's antivirus code!" They all cheered quietly. But Ulrich didn't join in. He just smiled painfully. Yumi noticed and knelt down in front of him.

"Ulrich, what's wrong?"

"America. That's so far away! And me as a model?" he snorted, "I don't think so. Oh, dad. What did you get me into? I'm no model! I mean, can you see me as a model? Nope. Nuh-uh." He groaned and stared out the window, almost longingly.

"Maybe I can't. But Ulrich, promise me something," she put a hand on his cheek and turned his head so he was looking at her.

"What?"

"To take care of yourself," she whispered. He nodded. They both started to lean forward.

"Hey! Are you two lovebirds going to help? Or are you gonna stay in your cozy little corner over there?" Odd called from across the room. The response he got was both of them jumping and blushing hysterically.

-The Next Morning-

Ulrich opened his eyes. Morning time. He got up, showered, and finished the packing he had started yesterday. When he finished, it was 7:30. Ulrich decided to mess with his roommate one last time, since he wouldn't be around too much longer. He took Odd's headphones and placed them on his friend's ears. Cranking up the volume, he hit the 'play' button. Odd shot up in bed like a rocket.

"WHERE'S THE FIRE?" he yelled. Ulrich shushed him and turned off the CD player, grinning.

"Ulrich? Is that you?" Odd rubbed his eyes sleepily.

Ulrich rolled his eyes, "No, it's the lady next door. Of course it's me!"

"A girl moved in next door?" Odd leaned forward eagerly.

"No! Sheesh, you're more gullible than I thought!" Ulrich whacked him with his pillow. Odd took _his _pillow and started hitting Ulrich back. Soon, a full-fledged pillow fight was on. This was how Yumi found them. When they heard the door, they both spun around, feathers flying. She giggled.

"Am I interrupting anything?" she asked.

"Not at all," Ulrich grinned, "Care to join us?'

"With pleasure," she grabbed a pillow and swung at him. Laughing, he dodged it and aimed at Odd. After a while they all got tired and stopped. Jeremy and Aelita came in and announced that it was time to go to the factory. When they arrived, Jeremy told Aelita to get in a scanner. She did so and Jeremy typed in a few codes. He pressed 'enter' and they waited. The elevator doors opened and there stood Aelita, all smiles.

"Virus, deleted," she said happily. They all walked over to a giant switch on the wall. Jeremy, Ulrich, Yumi, Aelita, and Odd each put a hand on it.

"Ready?" asked Jeremy. They all nodded, "Okay then. One, two……THREE!" They all pulled. The computer shut down. XANA was gone. Aelita was alive.

"YESSSS!" Odd screamed. They all cheered. Aelita hugged Jeremy, causing him to blush. Ulrich did too as Yumi hugged him. Soon, they stopped rejoicing and went to the party Odd had gotten permission for the day before. On the way there, everyone was smiling. The same thought was running through each of their minds: _'We beat him.'_

**Not exactly a cliffie, but it still leaves you hanging. I've divided this story up, since I know you don't want to read fifty-three pages (I'm dead serious) at once. It's still not done yet, and so far I'm at 12398 words! Yeah, isn't THAT cool. I'll put the next chappie in tomorrow… maybe. If you read this story, read my other one too…it's called "Lost In Her Voice" and is one of 13 stories I'm writing. All of which will eventually be put on fanfiction except for one or two. I hope you liked it! Read and Review!**


	2. He's Gone

**Would you believe it? My document manager is messed up… so I wasn't able to update for like EVER. So I'm sorry to you ppl ho were waiting for me to update. As long at the manager doesn't screw up again, I'll be sure to update faster. I might not be able to update the story "Lost In Her Voice" again because of the stupid computer (my friend's document thing is messed up too. And she lives in my neighborhood! How weird is that?), so I may have to delete it and start all over again. Anywho… enjoy chapter 2 of Into The Goal. Be sure to have a fresh box of tissues ready, this is the chappie where Ulrich leaves. Sadly, I don't own anything except my story. I don't own Code Lyoko or Natalie Grant's "Held." (starts crying) I'm really serious… but maybe I'll put some of the songs I wrote in this. Once somebody thought I was singing a real song when it was just one that I made up… lol. Here's chapter 2. It's longer because I couldn't update for a while.**

-At the Party-

The gym was decorated with streamers and ribbons. Jim was at the door when he saw Ulrich coming, he whispered something to the principal.

"Attention! I would like to say a few words on account of a student here. He is leaving us to go to one of the finest sport schools in America. He is an honorable student: on the Kadic soccer team, in class, and most of the time, just every-where. He doesn't judge someone until he knows him or her better. Though, maybe not all the time. He has won the MVP award every year since he's been playing on the soccer team. His friends came to me yesterday and asked me to throw a going-away party for him. He also has been asked to model a few products. A round of applause for Mr. Ulrich Stern!" the principal gestured at Ulrich, who stood there, very red in the face, while everyone clapped and cheered. His friends were the loudest out of everyone.

When the principal left, Odd went up to DJ. Grinning wickedly, he put on a slow song. Aelita pulled Jeremy out on the floor. Ulrich, now getting even redder, glared at Odd. His friend nodded toward Yumi. Ulrich sighed.

"Yumi……w-would you like t-to dance with me?" he stammered. She blushed and nodded. She took his hand and led him to the center of the dance floor. He his hands on her waist and she wrapped hers around his neck. They swayed to the beat of the song, "Held" by Natalie Grant. Unfortunately, the song ended. There were a few sighs from the crowd, but they died away when Odd put on one of the school's favorite songs. Yumi and Ulrich went to sit down. The dance went on for a couple of hours. Aelita and Jeremy danced most of the time. Ulrich and Yumi just talked. When the dance was over, everyone clapped for Odd as he walked off the stage.

"What time is it?" asked Odd. Yumi checked her watch and sighed.

She let her arm drop as they walked outside, "It's ten fifty-five. We have an hour and five minutes left before…" she couldn't finish the sentence.

"Hey," said Jeremy, "Let's have one last game before you go!"

"Okay!" Odd grinned. He lifted his hand and whacked Ulrich on the back of the head, "TAG! You're it!"

"Why, you little," Ulrich muttered. He started chasing after Odd. Yumi, Aelita, and Jeremy soon joined in. Ulrich caught up with Odd and tagged him. Then Odd tagged Yumi, Yumi tagged Jeremy, Jeremy tagged Aelita, Aelita tagged Odd, Odd tagged Ulrich, and finally Ulrich got Odd back and tackled him. For a while, they just rolled around in the dirt, wrestling. When they were both out of breath the got up and walked back to Yumi, Aelita, and Jeremy, who were laughing.

"What's so funny?" Odd asked innocently. Aelita giggled and pointed at the dust-covered clothes Odd wore. Ulrich wasn't all that dirty because he was the one on top mostly. Suddenly, a charter bus stopped at the curb. Ulrich's grin disappeared. He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. A tall man and a beautiful woman both got off the bus. The man removed his sunglasses and looked around campus. He saw Ulrich and beckoned to his wife. They walked up to the brunette.

"Hello, son," the man said. The woman smiled. Ulrich looked up.

"Hi dad," he turned to his friends, "Guys, this is my mom and my dad. Mom, dad, this is Aelita, Yumi, Odd, and Jeremy." They each shook Mr. & Mrs. Stern's hand in turn.

"I'll be right back dad. Let me get my things," Ulrich started walking toward the dorms. He was gone for a few minutes and then he returned with two duffel bags and a backpack. He threw them on the ground. It was now 11:45.

"Ulrich," Mrs. Stern took out a camera, "Do you want a few pictures before you go?" Ulrich nodded. He put an arm around Odd and an arm around Yumi. Jeremy put an arm around Aelita and an arm around Odd. They all smiled hard. Ulrich's mom snapped a few pictures. One of them like that and a few silly ones. Fifteen minutes later, there was the sound of a jet. The plane landed a few yards away and Mr. Ramsey jumped out. Ulrich's mom and dad went to talk to the man while Ulrich said goodbye. Each of them hugged him. Yumi was the last to say goodbye. She held onto him a second longer than the others. He pressed something into her hands. She looked up at him with a questioning expression. He just smiled.

"Don't open it until I leave," he whispered. She nodded and let go of him. She and Aelita were crying. They looked on as Ulrich and his parents climbed on the jet. He stared out the window and waved as the plane took off. They raised their hands and waved as the jet disappeared off in the distance. When they turned, they saw most of the school outside, also waving. Jim was crying.

"Oh, I'm going to miss that little fellow," he said, wiping his eyes with a dirty handkerchief. Odd barely smiled.

"Look at it his way Jim: you still have me to push around!" Odd tried cheering the gym teacher up. Jim coughed, though it sounded very much like a laugh.

"Okay, kids. Nothing else to see here. Go on, go on," he ushered them away. The four friends looked back one last time before going back into the building.

-With Ulrich-

Ulrich sat in a seat by the window. He wasn't listening to the adults' conversation. He was wondering how Yumi would react to his gift.

"Okay, Ulrich?" Mr. Ramsey turned to him. Ulrich jumped.

"E-excuse me?" Ulrich stuttered. Mr. Ramsey smiled at his politeness.

"I said that you'll go and see Ms. Telerose about modeling first. The agency is just down the street from the school. You'll need a car, of course to get there. She'll fill you in and give you a schedule for the days she is going to need you once she's checked you out. Then, you'll come to my school with her and we'll figure out everything from there. You'll also meet the four other winners of the scholarships on Monday during free time. Okay?" the man certainly had a lot of energy. He said all of that in one breath. Ulrich nodded, processing all this info. He sighed and leaned back as Mr. Ramsey discussed cars with Ulrich's parents. Ulrich would be driving as soon as he got his learner's permit in America. He stared out the window at the clouds. About 18 more hours of this torture.

-In Jeremy's Dorm-

Yumi put a hand in her pocket and fingered the little box. She stood up, "Well guys, I'd better be going. My parents want me home for lunch."

The others said goodbye as she left. She closed the door and walked down the hall. Untying the ribbon around the box, she opened it. Inside was a gold bracelet with real diamonds around the edge. She slipped it on and smiled as she read the engraving: _I'll miss you. _She took the box and placed it in her pocket again. She was so busy staring at the marvelous gift that she didn't look where she was going. She ran into a door. She laughed at herself and thought, _'Look at me now, Ulrich. Running into doors. You'd laugh. Snap out of it, Ishiyama! Concentrate! He's gone now. Gone…' _A fresh batch of tears ran down her cheeks as she walked home.

**Aww…Ulrich's gone…I hoe you liked this chapter. Read and review! Ta-taaaaa!**


	3. The Modeling Agency

**I'm baaaaaaaaaaack! RUN AWAY AND DUCK IN COVER! Heehee… just kidding. I don't own Code Lyoko, but I do own my OC, Turner Wilcox. I'll update as soon as possible. Okay… here u go.**

-The Next Day (with Ulrich)-

Ulrich got out of the car. He stared up at the modeling agency. It looked like a nice place. His parents waved goodbye.

"We'll see you at the hotel!" Mrs. Stern called back as they drove off. Ulrich took a deep breath and walked through the door. The secretary looked up.

"May I help you?" she lowered her reading glasses and gazed at him with a hard stare.

"Oh, yeah. I'm-" he was cut off as a plump lady with blond curls came through a door behind the desk.

She looked around, spotted Ulrich, and squealed, "Ulrich Stern! Why you look better in person than in those blurry pictures Harold gave me. Come, come," she took him by the shoulders and led him to a dim room, "David? David! He's here! Ulrich's here! Remember? I told you about him." An elderly man with a kind face came out of an office.

"Hello, Pam. Ah, you must be Ulrich Stern," he stuck out his had, "David Rodman. Call me David. None of this Mr. Rodman stuff. I hate that. It makes me feel old. Don't get me wrong, I am. But I feel like a young boy when somebody calls me David." Ulrich smiled and shook David's hand.

"Nice to meet you, _David._"

David smiled, "What a fine young man. Now, the normal packet, Pam?"

"Hmm," Pam looked over Ulrich, sizing him up, "Actually, I want you to do a little more than the usual. How about…oh, yes! The C package?"

David looked at Ulrich, "Yes madam. You, son, are going to be a big hit!" Ulrich blushed at this.

Pam handed him a jacket, "Let's see what you already know. Get up on that stage and do something with this jacket before we start shooting." Ulrich did as he was told. He slung the jacket over his shoulder, holding it with one finger. He leaned against the wall and half-smiled.

"Ooh! Great pose!" Pam clapped her hands, "You're a natural at this! Now, pretend you're walking down a street. You're and average school boy with a backpack." Ulrich smiled. He could relate to this 'average schoolboy.' He held on to the strap of an invisible backpack with one hand. He placed one foot in front and mimed walking. Also, for the illusion, he looked up at imaginary clouds. Pam smiled adoringly at him, "Isn't he just great?"

David nodded. Then, Ulrich posed some more before taking profile pictures, filling out a few forms, and getting a schedule from Pam.

"Okay, Ulrich. I'll need you Monday at twelve, Tuesday at eight, AM, that is, and Friday at one. I'll call you if you get any offers, okay. Now, let's get you to your new school!" They went out to Pam's car, a red Fiat Coupe. After a few minutes, they pulled up in front of a gray stucco building.

"Thanks for the ride Ms. Telerose. Bye," he climbed out of the car and went into the lobby of the building. He found Mr. Ramsey's office and knocked on the door. It opened and Mr. Ramsey smiled at him.

"Ulrich! Come in. I was just talking to your new coach. Coach Freedmen! Ulrich's here! A tall, black-haired man came in the office, "Here we are. Ulrich, this is your new coach. He's going to set you up and see what you can do." The coach beckoned him out the door.

"Oh! Ulrich, wait! Here's your schedule. You start classes tomorrow, Monday," he handed Ulrich a sheet of paper and Ulrich ran to catch up with his new coach.

-On the Field-

"Wow. You're better than Ramsey said you'd be," said the coach, "We position the team on Thursday. We also vote on captain that day as well. Votes are based strictly on the way you play." The coach was breathing deeply. Ulrich smiled as his new coach sat down on the grass.

"If I've made you tired, I guess I'd better warn you. I'm not up to scratch today. This is about a fifth of what I usually play," Ulrich smirked. He hardly ever lied. This was the truth. It was one of his worst days. But still, you couldn't see a trace of sweat anywhere on him. His breathing was normal as he stood there. Getting bored, he went to play with the soccer ball. He battled himself for fun. It was like watching two wild horses fight. He soon tired of that and did some tricks with the ball. He casually kicked the ball in the air, bounced it off his head, and caught it with the back of his hand, letting it roll smoothly across his shoulder blades and into his other hand. Then, he let the ball drop to the ground. Spinning it, he used the ball's momentum to twirl around it and land right back where he started. After that, he did something that seemed impossible (and probably is). As soon as the ball stopped moving, he placed both his hands on it. He kicked off the ground and did a handstand on top of the ball. Finally, he spun the ball and jumped up off it, doing a flip and landing gracefully back on his feet. During all this, he never noticed a camera flashing. Straightening up, he spotted a dark boy about his age holding a digital camera.

"Hi! I'm Turner Wilcox," he smiled at Ulrich. The brunette returned the grin.

"Ulrich Stern."

Turner held up the camera, "Sorry couldn't resist. I'm on the team too. You wanna see the shots I got?" He brought the camera over and scrolled through a few images, "Here they are!" He showed a picture of Ulrich doing the 360 around the ball. The next picture was Ulrich doing the handstand. Last of all, he showed one of Ulrich in a cannon-ball form upside down. Everything around him was blurry except for the ball, which was under him. His eyes were closed real tight. As always, he had a serious expression on in every picture. Ulrich smiled at the shots.

"You're a great photographer. Can you get me a copy of these?"

Turner glowed with pride, "Thanks! Sure I can get you a copy. Would you mind if I put these in the school paper? I write columns on new students. I'll need an interview though…"

Ulrich shrugged, "Yeah, you can put them in the paper. As for the interview…I'm all yours." The boys sat down, Turner asked questions and took notes, while Ulrich answered the questions as best he could.

-That Night-

Ulrich took off his shirt and threw it in the hamper. He then pulled on some green sweatpants and a white tank top- his usual nighttime wear. He brushed his teeth and spat out the excess foam. Walking to his bed, he fell back onto it, too tired to get under the covers. He stared up at the ceiling. His mom came in.

"Goodnight, Ulrich," she turned out his light. He didn't hear her. He'd already fallen asleep.

**I added and OC in… there are many more, so if u see anyone u don't know about, they're probably mine. Kapeesh? Kay. I hope u liked this chappie. Read and Review.**


	4. Offers Already?

**Okay, here u are… chapter 4. I hope you like it. I do not own Code Lyoko or Nike®, but I do own all my OCs- adults and kids alike. Yippee! I hope u enjoy this chappie…. There's more to come!**

-Monday Morning-

Ulrich awoke to the sound of his alarm clock. He got up, yawned, got dressed, and went to get breakfast. He was eating a bowl of cereal when his phone rang. He answered it sleepily.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Ulrich! It's me, Pam. Listen, you got and offer!" she could barely contain the excitement in her voice, "Well, actually we got a few. They're from Nike®, Larson's Clothing Company, and SchoolRockz Magazine (I made these up. Except for Nike®. I don't know if they're real…)! Also, there's a movie that a good friend of mine is working on. He is writing the script now. It'll take about two years to complete, but he wants you to star in it! So, you're fifteen now… he'll be ready to shoot when you're about eighteen (the math may confuse you… so pretend it's close to Ulrich's birthday… and shooting a movie takes about one year or more, so he'll be eighteen when he finishes shooting it)! If you accept, he'll start filming the minute he's ready. Of course, you'll be playing soccer, so he said he'll let you play for the soccer season, then come and film some more. So, what about it?" she asked, breathless.

"Uh, okay I guess. To all the offers," he was shocked at how quickly Pam had gotten back to him. She squealed with delight and told him at what times to be there for photos. He took notes. She promised to get back to him when she heard more about the movie, which was to be called "Tell Me A Story."

Ulrich glanced at the clock, "Ms.Telerose, I've got to go. School. 'Bye!" He quickly hung up and washed out his cereal bowl. His mom came in. He hurriedly kissed her goodbye and ran out the door. A few minutes later, he arrived out of breath in the school lobby. He pulled his schedule out of his pocket, "Let's see. Math, Science, four-hour break? Yes! Then English and Social Studies. Last of all, you practice with your team…soccer for me. And-Cool! I have Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays off. I think I'll get used to it here." He shoved his schedule back down in his pocket. Turning a corner, he bumped into somebody. Turner.

"Hey, Ulrich! I've got the prints you wanted here," Turner handed Ulrich 3 full-sheet color photos.

"Awesome!" Ulrich grinned and took them, "Uh, listen. Do you know where Mrs. Reed's room is? I've got her, then Mr. Cole, Mrs. Stratton, and Mrs. Fender."

Turner smiled, "You're in all my same classes! Nice! I don't sit by anybody, having a last name starting with a W. You can sit by me!"

"Great! At least I know someone that isn't an adult or older." A group of girls passed whispering and pointing at Ulrich. He rolled his eyes. _'Not another group of admirers.' _He groaned inwardly.

"Hi, Ulrich," one girl smiled, batting her eyelashes at him.

"Err- hi."

Turner grabbed his arm, "Come on, Ulrich. We'll be late for class!" He pulled Ulrich down the hall. Ulrich sighed with relief as they got out of range.

"Thanks, buddy. They must of saw the article you wrote. You did say the paper would be out today, right?" he asked. Turner nodded. They both got to class, thankfully on time. The teacher gave him his math book and Ulrich went through all of the 'I'm Ulrich Stern. And blahdy, blahdy, blah,' in every class. And in every class, he sat next to Turner. Girls stared at him hopefully as he sat uncomfortably in his first two classes. When break came, he rushed to Mr. Ramsey's office.

"Hi Mr. Ramsey. Sorry I'm-" he spotted four other kids at the table. Mr. Ramsey turned around.

"Late? It's quite all-right Ulrich. Let me introduce you to everyone. This is Thomas," a tall black-haired boy grinned. Ulrich smiled back.

"Bobby," a blonde boy waved at him from across the table. Ulrich returned the gesture.

"Reggie," a small, snobby, red-haired boy sat at the end of the table, tapping his fingers impatiently. _'Well same to you too.' _Ulrich thought.

"And Jessie," a girl, the only one there, stared at her feet shyly, "Now that you've all met each other, you can go about your business. Go on now."

"So," said Thomas, once they were out of he room, "What'd you get in for?"

"Soccer," Ulrich replied simply, "You guys?"

"Basketball," Thomas said.

Bobby shrugged, "Football."

Jessie, now a little more comfortable around all the guys, piped up, "Tennis. And you, Reggie?" Everyone could tell she was trying her best to be polite.

"_I_ got in for hockey. A mind sport. You need to have a good mind to play hockey," he sniffed. Behind him, Ulrich squinted with one eye and stuck out his tongue. Thomas snorted. Reggie turned around and Ulrich assumed his normal, serious face. Jessie giggled as Ulrich smiled innocently.

As they walked to the lunchroom, Turner caught up with them, "Hi, Ulrich." Ulrich noticed Jessie looking at Turner with more than just a sparkle in her eye. He introduced her to him.

"Jessie, this is Turner Wilcox. Turner, this is Jessie, uh…"

"Summers," she finished for him. She shook Turner's hand, blushing. Turner, if anything, was a darker shade of red than Jessie.

"Nice to meet you," said Turner.

Ulrich coughed, startling the two, "I hate to intrude, but we do have to get to lunch."

-At Practice-

Ulrich wasn't at his best, but he was very good. He left the rest of the team in the dust as he scored goal after goal. The other team members were Jerry, Scott, Ed, Winston, Karl, Howard, Joseph, Oliver, Freddy, Nick, Ron, and Turner, of course. After a long day's practice, they all flopped down and enjoyed the refreshing breeze.

Ulrich put his hands behind his head and laid back. Another group of girls passed. They too, had read the article and seen the pictures. It seemed that everyone had (And everyone did too… ;D). They giggled and waved at Ulrich. He didn't even look their way. Once again, unfortunately, he was the heartthrob of the school.

"Ulrich, you play well. Now I know why Ramsey gave you that scholarship," Howard said in his German accent. The rest of the team nodded.

Ulrich laughed, "Oh, you haven't seen nothing yet. I'm better than yesterday at least."

"Okay, you lot. Into the showers before you stink up the place," the coach joked. Groaning, the boys got up and jogged to the locker room. Ulrich took a shower and pulled on his normal attire. He grabbed his clothes and shoved them in the locker Coach Freedmen had assigned him.

Jerry grinned, "At least coach went easy on us. Probably 'cause it's your first day."

Winston grabbed Jerry's shoes and held them just out of the black-headed boy's reach, "Yeah, he can get really harsh when he wants to."

Jerry jumped up on the bench and grabbed his shoes back. Winston shrugged and grabbed a soccer ball, "Heads up!"

He passed it to Ron, who passed it to Oliver, who passed it to Turner, who passed it to Ulrich, who passed it to Nick, who passed it to Howard, who passed it to Freddy, who passed it Joseph, who passed it to Scott, who passed it Karl, who passed it to Jerry, who passed it to Ed, who passed it back to Winston (wow… that was confusing). It went like that- in a circle- for about five minutes before the coach walked it and yelled at them for making so mush noise. After that episode, they went back to getting ready to go. Ulrich and Turner were the first to leave.

"So, where ya headed?" Turner asked, and yet _another_ group of girls passed, giggling and pointing at (guess who…) Ulrich.

"Golden Gate Hotel. (again, I don't know if this is real or not). And you?" he casually slung his backpack over his shoulder with one of the straps dangling, causing a cute sense of appeal to settle around him.

"Me too! I guess I'll be seeing a lot of you."

Ulrich smiled, "I guess so."

**Yay! Ulrich has more friends. I told u there would be more OCs. Did u like the chappie? Sooner or later, it'll be going into the future. Isn't that cool? In case I didn't mention it b4, I'm putting Yumi in the same grade as the others. You'll se why later on in the story. Read and Review! Bye byes ppls! **

**PS: Missy Twinkle- I'm still not done putting chapter 1 of LG2 on my computer… I'll get it up as fast as I can.**


	5. The Future

**Next Chappie! Okay ppls, this is it… the one you've all been waiting for… THE FUTURE CHAPTER! But not yet. Only when it says –The Future (Three Years Later)- Does it go into the future. I hope you like this chapter… it's kinda long, but LIVE WITH IT! Enjoy…**

-Thursday At Practice-

"Okay, kids. Listen up. Here are your positions: Goalie- alternating Howard, number eighteen, and Karl, number five. Defenders- Joseph, number seventeen, Scott, number twenty, Freddy, number nine, and Ron, number three. Midfielders- Jerry, number eight, Winston, number twenty-three, Ed, number ten and Oliver, number six. Left wing- Turner, number fifteen. Right wing- Nick, number eleven. And last of all, our striker- Ulrich, number twenty-five," the coach smiled. Everyone cheered and grabbed their uniforms.

"Now, it's time to vote. You've seen each other play. Now, you've got to choose. Who's going to be captain? Write it on a slip of paper and put it in this box," the coach held out a box. They all wrote down their votes and put them in the box. He counted them and straightened up, "Congratulations Mr. Ulrich Stern! The new captain of Redwood High's soccer team!" Ulrich grinned. The team clapped him on the back and congratulated him. It was the start of and undefeated season for the Tigers, though they didn't know it yet.

-The Future (Three Years Later)-

(Ulrich Now Plays For The Best US Soccer Team In The Nation. He also has done well in his part-time modeling career. He is 18 years old, as are the rest of his friends.)

Ulrich sat in his room. He was at his 15-room house. Well, actually mansion. He laidback on his bed and stared up at the ceiling in wonder. Turner poked his head into Ulrich's room.

"Come on, Ulrich. They're waiting for you."

Ulrich sighed and rose from the bed. He straightened his tuxedo and followed Turner out of the house and to a limo.

"Safe trip, buddy," Turner patted him on the shoulder.

"I'll try not to cause any trouble," Ulrich laughed as his friend closed the door. The limo sped up and Ulrich waved as they drove away. About 10 minutes later, they arrived at a movie theater. Ulrich put on his best smile and climbed out. Cameras flashed. Cheers came from all sides. He walked halfway down the red carpet and took some of the pieces of paper people pushed at him and signed them. Video cameras where whirring. Suddenly, he spotted a little boy around five years old. The kid stood behind his mother's leg with a pad of paper and a pen. The crowd went quiet as Ulrich crouched down next to the boy.

"What's your name?" he asked, taking the pad of paper and pen from the boy. Scared, the little boy hung on to his mother's leg.

"K-Kevin. K-E-V-I-N. Kevin Strats," the little boy stopped shaking and came out from behind his mother. Ulrich smiled.

"Kevin? I like that name," he signed the paper and handed it back to the boy. Kevin took it shyly. Then, he rushed forward and hugged Ulrich. Ulrich hugged him back and then stood up, "Have fun Kevin. Take care of your mother now, ya hear?" Kevin nodded as Ulrich was whisked away into the theater for the world premier of his movie, "Tell Me A Story". It would be seen on TV everywhere. Even in France………

-Kadic High With Yumi, Jeremy, Aelita, & Odd-

"Attention, everyone: Kadic High's senior students will be going to Ohio for two weeks. You'd better start packing because we leave tomorrow. We're giving you some time off before you graduate. Have a happy Sunday!" Everyone cheered. Well, all the seniors, that is. They were all grouped in the auditorium. The principal was letting the watch the world premier of the new movie, "Tell Me A Story".

Odd was jumping up and down in his seat.

"Cool it!" Yumi yelled at him, "We know you can't wait for the movie to start. Sit still and wait patiently for once in your life!" Aelita giggled and Odd tried to sit still. A picture came on the screen. It was of the star of the movie. He turned toward the cameras and grinned. Odd's mouth dropped open. Jeremy's eyes widened in shock. Aelita and Yumi, along with a lot of other students, gasped at the young man on the screen.

"It's…it's…it's…it's," Odd couldn't finish his sentence.

"Ulrich," Aelita whispered. They watched as Ulrich squatted down.

"What's your name?" he asked, taking the pad of paper and pen from a boy.

"K-Kevin. K-E-V-I-N. Kevin Strats," the little boy said.

"Kevin? I like that name," he signed the paper and handed it back to the boy. Kevin took it shyly. Then, he rushed forward and hugged Ulrich. Ulrich hugged him back and then stood up, "Have fun Kevin. Take care of your mother now, ya hear?" Kevin nodded.

"Wow," said Odd, "I don't know that many celebrities that would do that." The movie appeared on the screen. It was about a little boy who wanted to hear a story about the war from his grandfather. Ulrich played the grandfather as a young boy in the army. While in the military, Fredrick, Ulrich's character, met a young girl in the hospital beside the battlefield. He fell in love with her. At the end of the movie, he kissed her as the grandfather ended the story. During the kissing scene, Yumi was rocking back and forth muttering, "It's just a movie, just a movie." Aelita laid a comforting hand on her shoulder. They all knew that Yumi still liked Ulrich. She had liked him still after he moved away. Now, here he was on the big screen. After the movie finished, there came on a talk show introducing Ulrich. Jim shooed everyone out of the gym. The group ran up to Odd's room and turned on his TV to the same channel. Ulrich sat there in a green t-shirt and dark green pants.

"So, Ulrich. Do you have any special friends you want to greet out there tonight?" the host asked.

Ulrich flashed a grin that made Yumi's heart melt, "Sure do. First of all to my friends in France: If you guys are watching this, Happy Birthday, Kiwi!"

The dog barked at the screen. Odd shushed him, knowing what would happen if Jim found Kiwi. Everyone smiled.

"Is Kiwi a special girl in your life, Ulrich?" the host smiled slyly.

"Uh, no. Kiwi's a dog." At this the group burst into laughter.

"Anyway, I also want to thank my teammates, both in middle school, high school, and now, for all of the help and encouragement they have given me these past years. Thanks!" the crowd cheered.

The host nodded, "So, Ulrich have you ever been in any serious relationships? Is there a girl in your life?"

"N-not really…I, uh, haven't really been in any serious relationships with anyone. Except for someone back in France I still like." Two seconds after he said that, he slapped a hand to his mouth. Yumi blushed furiously as Odd taunted her. They knew who Ulrich meant.

"Oooo! Ulrich likes Yumi! And Yumi likes Ulrich!" he yelled at the top of his lungs. Yumi grabbed a pillow and hit him with it. Hard. He shut up and rubbed his head where she had hit him. She was still blushing.

"I'd better get going," she said and got up. Aelita pulled her back down.

"Oh no you don't, Ishiyama! You're staying right here until this thing is finished! We want to hear what he says about you."

Reluctantly, Yumi sat down as Ulrich spoke again, "I-I mean, well. Never mind." He too, was blushing.

"Wait a second," Jeremy had a look of wonder o his face, "Ulrich moved to Columbus, Ohio. Right? Well, isn't that where the school is taking us?"

The rest of the group processed this information, their eyes wide. They were going to Ohio. Where Ulrich was. And, according to their flyers, they would be at one of his soccer games, not that they knew that or anything…

-With Ulrich-

"Uh, I've got to go. Big game on Friday," Ulrich got up, still blushing, and ran off the stage. He got into his own car, a silver Lexus LF-A, and drove off. When he arrived at his house, he ran in and flopped down on his bed. His biggest secret was no longer a secret anymore. If his friends had seen that, well, they knew who he was talking about. The image of a beautiful Japanese girl entered his mind. Turner poked his head in for the second time that night.

"Can I come in?"

Ulrich shrugged and nodded, "You heard… didn't you."

Turner walked in and sat down on a beanbag chair, "You were talking about Yumi, right?" Ulrich nodded again. "Do you have a picture? What's she like? You've never shown me her before, you know." Ulrich sat up and took out his wallet. Sliding a picture out of its plastic case, her handed it to Turner. It was one of the ones his mom had taken before he left for America.

He pointed at a tall, beautiful girl beside himself, "That's Yumi."

Turner whistled softly, "Wow… no wonder you're smitten, dude. She looks great. What's she like?"

"Kind, caring, and tough. She's like a little china doll, innocent and pure. Almost always smiling. And she has the most beautiful voice. Every time she talks to you, it seems like an angel was speaking to you," Ulrich sighed and stared out the dark window, "Sometimes, it's like she's still here. I can't help thinking about her. At times, I wish I'd never taken Ramsey's scholarship, just so I'd be able to be near her at least."

Turner handed him back the picture, "Here. She sounds great."

"She is. I've got this funny feeling that we were meant to be together. I wish I could go back to France, even if it was only for a second, and tell her how I've always felt about her."

"Maybe, someday, you'll be able to. I've got the same feeling about Jessie. And all the time I've known _her_ I knew that we were destined to be together."

Ulrich crossed his arms and rested his elbows on his knees, "Though time may exceed to infinity, I'll never stop loving her. Never. Even if the sun burns out, and the seas overflow, and the mountains crumble to dust. My love for her will still go on. On until the end of all life on earth."

Turner grinned, "Since when did you get poetic?" Ulrich glared at him and tackled his friend. He had been keeping up with his martial arts training. After a few fluid movements, Turner was on the floor, Ulrich's knee on his back, "Okay, okay! I surrender." Ulrich smirked and stood up, helping Turner up as well.

"Ready for the game tomorrow night?" asked Turner. Ulrich shrugged and sat on his bed again. Turner did the same, still breathing deeply.

"Can I come in?"

Ulrich shrugged and nodded, "You heard, didn't you."

Turner walked in and sat down on a beanbag chair, "You were talking about Yumi, right?" Ulrich nodded, "Do you have a picture? What's she like? I've never seen her before, you know." Ulrich sat up and took out his wallet. Sliding a picture out of its holder, he handed it to Turner. It was the one his mom had taken right before they left.

He pointed at a tall, beautiful girl beside himself, "That's Yumi."

Turner whistled softly, "Wow… no wonder you're smitten, dude. She looks great. What's she like?"

"Kind, caring, and tough. She's like a little china doll, innocent and pure. Almost always smiling. And she has the most beautiful voice. Every time she talks to you, it seems like an angel was speaking to you," Ulrich sighed and stared out the dark window, "Sometimes, it's like she's still here. I can't help thinking about her. At times, I wish I'd never taken Ramsey's scholarship, just so I'd be able to be near her at least."

Turner handed him back the picture, "Here. She sounds great."

"She is. I've got this funny feeling that we were meant to be together. I wish I could go back to France, even if it was only for a second, and tell her how I've always felt about her."

"Maybe, someday, you'll be able to. I've got the same feeling about Jessie. And all the time I've known _her_ I knew that we were destined to be together."

Ulrich crossed his arms and rested his elbows on his knees, "Though time may exceed to infinity, I'll never stop loving her. Never. Even if the sun burns out, and the seas overflow, and the mountains crumble to dust. My love for her will still go on. On until the end of all life on earth."

Turner grinned, "Since when did you get poetic?" Ulrich glared at him and tackled his friend. He had been keeping up with his martial arts training. After a few fluid movements, Turner was on the floor, Ulrich's knee on his back, "Okay, okay! I surrender." Ulrich smirked and stood up, helping Turner up as well.

"Ready for the game tomorrow night?" asked Turner. Ulrich shrugged and sat on his bed again. Turner did the same, still breathing deeply.

**Heehee… future. Anywho, I hop you like this chapter. I just put up Lyoko Group Two! Yes, that is the story LG2 I've been talking about. Please read that too… also my other one called Lost In Her Voice. My friend and I will be putting up a story on our new account that we made together called Shinning In The Moonlight… if we ever decide which one to put up. READ AND REVIEW PPLS! Adios! (Blech… Spanish…. I hate Spanish…)**


	6. Meeting Again

**Okay, ppls. Sorry about the last chappie. My computer messed up. Or maybe I did… hmmmmm… Anywho, here's the next chappie. And yes, in this chappie… ULRICH AND YUMI MEET AGAIN! So, what are you waiting for? Hurry up and read it already!**

-On The Plane (Pit Stop In NY)-

Yumi stumbled past Aelita and into the small bathroom on the plane. Disgusted, she threw her barfbag away in the trashcan. When she came back, Odd was grinning.

"Shut up, Odd. You know heights don't agree with me," she muttered as she sat back down.

"Attention, students: you are all required to rotate seats," the pilot announced, Moans and groans were heard from the crowd as they all shifted. Yumi wound up next to her worst nightmare: Odd. The boy must have eaten some of those little packets of sugar, because he was extremely hyper.

"Hey, Yumi it's your boyfriend!" Odd poked her in the side and pointed at the TV screen.

"Wha- oh be quiet Odd," she grumbled as the movie "Tell Me A Story" came on. She took a pillow and a blanket out of the luggage rack and curled up in her seat. Before the plane even took off, she was fast asleep.

-A Few Hours Later-

"Stones and Ishiyama, room eight-oh-six! Belpois and Della-Robbia, room eight-twenty-one! Oh great, they put you four together…" the group ignored the rest of the comment and hurried up to their rooms, grabbing their things on the way. Aelita and Yumi put their stuff away. As they finished, there was a knock at the door.

"It's us!" Odd yelled. Aelita opened the door, "Hi, where's Yu-" Jeremy slammed a hand to Odd's mouth and pointed out to the deck connected to the room. Yumi stood there in an almost trance-like state. She was singing. The words that she sang went something like this:

Don't make me cry,

It doesn't work that way.

I told you I'd try,

Didn't you hear me say?

I can't hold on to you forever.

There's only me to hold you back.

I'll make it through my life somehow.

I'll be there when you go.

Just walk away.

I won't hold you back.

You heard me say,

Get your life on track.

I can't hold on to you forever.

There's only me to hold you back.

I'll make it through my life somehow.

I'll be there when you go.

Why haven't you gone?

There isn't a lot to tell.

You used to be the only one.

That could ring my bell.

I can't hold on to you forever.

There's only me to hold you back.

I'll make it through my life somehow.

I'll be there when you go.

I'll be there when you go.

Aelita came out onto the porch and clapped. Yumi whirled around and blushed. Suddenly, Jim burst into the room.

"Hey, you kids! Get back to your regular rooms! It's midnight!" Odd and Jeremy rolled their eyes and followed Jim out the door. They went back to their room and crawled in bed. Aelita and Yumi did the same. After a while, everybody was asleep.

-The Next Night-

Ulrich kicked around a soccer ball while the crowd cheered. After doing a few tricks, much to the pleasure of his fans, he kicked the ball to Turner. Turner hit it back to Ulrich using his head. They kicked it back and forth until their coach called them over to the bench.

"Who all's here chief?" asked Tony, the left wing forward and also one of Ulrich's good friends. They all called the coach "chief' because the coach didn't like being called "coach" for some reason.

"Uh, let's see. Two schools. Lakewater and Rodic, or something like that. Now listen. Colorado is still undefeated, like us. Only one winner will walk away tonight. So get in the game and concentrate. Ulrich, ya ready? Sorry that you have to play striker whole game," the coach looked up at the tall athlete.

Ulrich shrugged, "No big deal. I can handle it."

The coach smiled and they all took their places.

-In The Stands-

Odd yelled and ate and yelled some more. Yumi sat in her seat, very embarrassed by the 18-year-old next to her. Getting bored, she watched the screens that were placed around the stadium. She gasped as a camera turned toward a certain brown-haired boy playing the striker. Ulrich Stern was definitely still in Ohio. After they showed Ulrich, they scanned around the crowd. Yumi shrunk down in her seat. But there was no escaping her friends.

"Oh, Yumi!" Odd elbowed her. Yumi glared at him. He just grinned, knowing she had seen Ulrich. The game started and she leaned forward again. Ulrich scored goal after goal with the help of his teammates. Near the end of the game, something dreadful happened. Ulrich had possession of the ball. Suddenly, out of nowhere, the striker for the other team came and hit him in the stomach. Hard. The crowd stood up quickly as Ulrich fell to the ground, the wind knocked out of him. Yumi put her hands to her mouth, her eyes wide. The camera was once again scanning the crowd. A doctor came out onto the field. Ulrich's eyes were closed. He opened his eyes and everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Slowly, everyone sat down again and the game continued. Ulrich was bruised, but otherwise fine. It was a victory for Ohio. A close match at first, but in the end, Ohio left Colorado in the dust. A 24 to 18 winning. The group cheered along with the rest of the crowd.

A few buses came to pick them up. Soon they were back at the hotel. Aelita fell asleep as soon as her head hit her pillow. Yumi couldn't sleep, so she grabbed her black hoodie and walked out of her hotel room, taking a key with her. She walked along the path by the lake, trying to clear her head.

-With Ulrich-

Ulrich got home from the game. He grabbed his jacket from the passenger seat beside him and went for a walk. He always did this after games. It helped him wind down a little. He walked halfway around the lake. Then, hearing the crunch of leaves, he looked up. So did the other person. They locked eyes and stopped in their tracks. He looked down at the person who used to be taller than him.

"Yumi?" he took a few cautious steps forward.

She looked up at him and whispered his name, "U-Ulrich?" He walked quickly up to her until they were only a few feet apart.

A grin broke out on his face for the first time in months, "Yep, it's me." A couple of tears ran down her face.

"Oh!" she sobbed. She ran forward and hugged him tightly. He put his arms around her waist and squeezed her, never wanting to let go. Her eyes shining with tears, she lifted her head. He cupped her face in his hands and kissed her on the lips. She closed her eyes and wound her arms around his neck. When air became a problem, she put her head on his shoulder next to his neck.

"I love you Yumi. I always have, and always will," he whispered in her ear. Her heart soared.

"I love you too, Ulrich." She smiled as once again, his lips found hers. She pressed herself close to him, deepening the kiss. Without warning, a flash went off. They broke apart and blinked as another camera went off in their faces.

"Put your hood up," Ulrich whispered, "And RUN!" She did so. Ulrich took her hand and led her back to his house. A light rain came down. The drizzle turned into a downpour. By the time they arrived at his house, they were drenched. Ulrich pulled Yumi inside.

"Ulrich wha-" she was cut off as he clapped a hand to her mouth and pulled her down. She wound up sitting in between his legs and he was backed against the door. He had one hand around her stomach and one still over her mouth. They sat like that awkwardly for a few seconds. Then a group of people ran by with cameras and video cameras, screaming and talking very fast. After they had gone, Ulrich and Yumi got up.

"Sorry about that," he rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

Yumi smiled, "It's all right."

"Good. Now, where were we?" he grinned. He kissed her again. Yumi kissed him back, wanting to feel this way forever. She ran her fingers through his hair. Then, he carried her bridal-style and sat her down on the couch in the living room. She sighed happily as he sat down and put and arm around her, _'I've got to be dreaming. Wait, I must have pinched myself a thousand times today. I'm not dreaming!' _ Settling in the crook of his arm, she closed her eyes for a few seconds before opening them again.

"Ulrich?" she whispered. He kissed her for the fourth time.

"Hmm?" he murmured against her mouth. She stared deeply into his eyes.

"Why me? Why, out of all the girls you know, do you like me?"

He took her shoulders and held her at arms' length, "Do you really want to know?" She nodded. "Okay, I'll show you." He pulled her on top on him and kissed her passionately. She lay on top of him for quite a while, kissing him. Then, she understood. No other girl would be as patient with him. No other girl knew him as well as she did. And no other girl could love him as much as he loved her. That was a promise. She pressed her body to his and put her hands around his neck. She had never felt happier. Ulrich got up, took out some wood, lit a match, and started a fire in the fireplace in front of them. He came back with a blanket and wrapped it around Yumi and himself. For an hour, they stayed like that, talking. Then, Yumi looked at the clock on the mantle as it tolled one.

Yumi got up, "I've got to go. If Jim finds me…well, you never know. At least Aelita was asleep when I left." Ulrich nodded.

"I'll walk you there," he got up. Together, they walked quietly back to the hotel. Yumi stopped in front of her room. She turned to him and hugged him. A couple of tears ran down her face.

"Ulrich, I only have a week here. What are we going to do when I leave?" she sobbed into his shoulder. Ulrich pushed a little piece of paper into her hand.

"Call me long-distance. I'll take care of the charge. And here's my email and IM. I'll be waiting to hear from you and the others," he kissed her, "I'd better be going if I don't want to be mobbed by my paparazzi or something. Goodbye, Yumi. And don't forget. I love you," he whispered in her ear. She nodded and let go of him. He walked back to his house, happier than he'd been for a long time.

Yumi quietly let herself in and closed the door softly behind her. The light snapped on and Yumi winced,

"Where HAVE. YOU. BEEN?" Aelita seethed, "I was worried sick! And why are you all wet?"

Yumi groaned, "Sorry, _mother_. I'm going to bed now, if you don't mind." She crawled under the covers of her twin bed and fell asleep. Aelita stood there, arms crossed, very angry. But she soon calmed as she saw how happy Yumi looked. She hadn't looked that way in almost three years.

"I'll let her slide. _This_ time," Aelita got in her bed and also fell asleep.

**Uh-oh! What's Aelita going to do? And where are the pictures going to go? Beware… the next chappie may shock you. The song in the chappie is one that I myself made up. Don't copyright it without my permission ppls. That's mean, bad, horrible, and lots of other stuff I can't say because this story is rated K. I don't own Code Lyoko or anything else except my song, my OCs, Kat, and Ramah. To find out who Kat and Ramah are, you'll have to wait for the next chappie. Until then… READ AND REVIEW!**


	7. Explain Yourself

**What is Aelita going to do! Oh no! Will Yumi and Ulrich ever see each other again? Will they ever get together? Only I know… heehee. I don't own Code Lyoko, kay? I had a question about my song. I might be able to record it, I might not. I'll try though. If I do, I'll e-mail it 2 u, uh… (checks reviews) Mylinda Antoinette. Hope u guys like the chappie! Please read my other story, Lyoko Group Two. It's only had twelve hits… sniffsniff**

-The Next Morning-

Odd burst into the room after Aelita let him in. Jeremy followed, shocked.

"Yumi!" Odd yelled. Yumi opened her eyes and, seeing who it was, shut them again tightly. She groaned.

He pulled the covers off of her. She was still in her clothes from the day before.

"What?" she sat up and wrapped her arms around her legs and put her head on her knees.

"WHAT! _WHAT!_ How do you explain THIS!" he shoved a portion of the newspaper at her. She saw the picture and groaned, pulling the covers over her again and laying down.

"I don't want to talk about it," her voice was muffled by the sheets on top of her.

"Oh, you're gonna talk about it!" Odd pulled the covers off of her once again, "Tell us. Exactly what happened last night? Because _this_ tells me you met someone out by the lake!"

Yumi groaned and sat up, "Read it, it probably has what happened last night in there anyway."

Odd unfolded the paper. There was a picture of Ulrich and Yumi kissing on the front. He began to read:

THE LOVE OF HIS LIFE IS FINALLY KNOWN-

Ulrich Stern does, in fact, have a love life. Though he tries to deny it. The little comment he let slip on Thursday is true. An 18-year-old girl named Yumi Ishiyama ("How did they find out my name!" Yumi screamed. They shushed her.) is found to be the keeper of the key to Ulrich's heart. She is a beautiful Japanese girl from France. She is visiting here with her school, Kadic High. Ulrich used to go to school with her at Kadic Junior. They liked each other ever since they met there. Ulrich, the actor/model/soccer star, is _very_ fond of this striking raven-haired girl, as you can see in the picture above. Ulrich has refused to talk to us, but he ill in time, we hope. He also refuses to talk about his girlfriend. The handsome young man has already told her he loves her, and she said the same to him. According to sources, he plans on meeting her today in secret. ("Not exactly a secret anymore is it, though?" Jeremy muttered.) We assume that he needs to ask her something very important. We'll get back to all you readers later! Until next time…Lisa O'Neil, author.

"There you go. She explained for me. Now, can I go back to sleep now?" Yumi whined.

"NO!" they all yelled.

"Where are you going with Ulrich? And why didn't you tell us about him earlier?" Odd demanded.

Yumi glared at him, "Is there a crime against being tired and having a secret? Who are you, my father? Why can't you guys leave me alone? I'm gonna get this from the rest of the world too!" she started to cry, "Everyone that reads the paper will know about it by now. I'll never get to rest. All I want is a little peace and quiet, is that too much to ask! I thought friends were supposed to help you through happy and hard times, not interrogate them about what they did last night!" Aelita, Jeremy, and Odd looked sheepish, "I guess it is! First thing I hear when I get back is 'Where have you been?' and when I wake up it's 'How do you explain this?'. Well, I don't want to explain! I won't be able to go out today without getting mobbed by people! That already happened yesterday! I'm not going to tell you where I'm going to meet Ulrich because knowing you guys, you'll follow me there! Were you? I bet so!"

"Yumi," Aelita sat down next to her friend and reached out a hand.

"Go away!" Yumi yelled. She jumped up and threw open the door, only to have a million flashes go off in her face. Tears streaming down her face, she pushed through the crowd and ran. Aelita turned to Jeremy and Odd. Their friend was right. But was she willing to let them be her friends again?

-With Yumi-

She ran down the hall and out the door, her eyes red. How could they? There were thousands of people around, calling her name, but she ran on. She didn't want to face anyone right now. She ran to a building and looked up. The sign read: National Wildlife Institute. The door said 'open' so she went in. She followed some arrows and found herself in a garden. There was a growl from behind her and she whirled around.

"Watch out! Kat's pretty mean!" a nearby staff member yelled frantically. Yumi stood still. Kat, a tiger, walked up to her. Yumi cautiously stuck out her hand. Kat sniffed it and licked her. The giant tiger came up to her and rubbed against the girl. Yumi calmed and started stroking the orange, black, and white fur.

"Wow," the old staff member came up to her. He had silver hair and looked to be in his 50s. His nametag read: Tom, "Kat doesn't take to _anyone_. Well, no one I've seen before. You're the first one she's ever been nice too. Oh! Are you Yumi Ishiyama?" Yumi's happy face saddened again.

"You-you saw the article?" she asked. He nodded.

"Sorry. You must be getting mobbed now. Most people come here to calm down. You did too probably, right? Kat doesn't usually roam around like this. She's usually locked in her cage. But she got out once we opened the door to give her breakfast."

Yumi also nodded. Tom took a step closer. Kat growled and he jumped back. Yumi laughed. Then, she got and idea.

"Kat, SIT!" She commanded. Kat obeyed. Tom's eyes widened and he whispered a slight 'wow'. Yumi walked away and Kat started to whine. Then the tiger got up and followed her. Tom laughed along with Yum but stopped when Kat growled again.

"I guess she doesn't trust anyone but you."

Yumi looked down at Kat, "My parents would _never_ let me keep her!" They both laughed. Suddenly, the door opened. Odd, Aelita, and Jeremy stood there gaping at the tiger.

Aelita screamed, "Yumi!"

Yumi turned her back on them and sat down on the grass-covered floor. Kat sat next to her, keeping her untrusting, yellow eyes on the other three teenagers. The tiger growled. Then Kat nuzzled Yumi's cheek. She put her arms around the tiger's neck and cried into her. Odd walked up to Yumi.

"Yumi, we-" he fell backwards as the tiger roared at him fiercely. Yumi sent him a look so cold that he was paralyzed and couldn't get up. His mouth dropped open as he hurriedly crab-walked back to where Jeremy and Aelita were standing.

"What do _you_ want?' she asked, crying, "Never mind. I don't care. Just like you don't care about how I feel! Maybe, just maybe, I want to be normal. To not have people gawking at me when I walk past. To not have to keep my hood up so people won't recognize me! Have you thought about that? Ever since that ---" Yumi said something so bad even Odd had to gasp, "reporter, wrote that story, I've had to run away. I ran away at the lake, the hotel, and to here! I just want to be left alone! So why don't you save your breath and walk away like nothing happened. Because nothing did!" She stood up and faced them bravely, "I am _not_ the girl I was three years ago. And I'm _not_ going to be. So don't think you can just apologize and everything goes back to normal. Just go AWAY!"

Aelita started crying, "But Yumi…"

Yumi walked to the side of a small lake, Kat at her side. She wouldn't look at them. Seeing their faces made her feel worse about what she just said. Jeremy started toward her. Aelita grabbed his arm.

"She doesn't want t be bothered, Jeremy," Aelita whispered.

Jeremy pulled out of her grasp, "I haven't done anything. Nothing that would cause her to hold a grudge against me," he walked over to Yumi.

"Hi, Jer," she looked up at him, "Sorry if you thought I was yelling at _you_. You didn't do anything." Yumi stared at the fish in the pond without blinking. Jeremy couldn't get any closer because of Kat, but he did speak to her.

"Yumi, why won't you give them another chance? They were worried about you! We all were. I mean, what if Hiroki came home at one in the morning drenched and the next day you found he had been making out with one of your best friends? Huh?" Jeremy folded his arms.

Yumi stroked Kat, "Bad example. If I had a friend Hiroki's age, one- he wouldn't be making out with her. Two- he doesn't even know a girl he likes yet. Three- my parents put a lock on his door and window so he won't hurt himself. And four- he's eight years old for crying out loud! He doesn't even know the way home yet! He's too interested in his game boy."

"That's not the point, Yumi. The point is that Aelita and Odd care about you. In a sense you could say that they are over-protective friends. You could at least give them another chance."

Kat made a noise in the back of her throat. Yumi calmed her down by petting her. She didn't speak for a long time. Jeremy was getting impatient.

"_Well_…"

"Meet me at Rhonda's Bowling alley at five. I'll let you know then. Bring the others as well," Yumi stood up and looked him over. Then she clicked her tongue and patted her leg, motioning Kat to follow her. Jeremy stood there dumbfounded at what Yumi had said. He assumed she'd have and answer right away. Yumi didn't look back as she led Kat to her cage. Kat bounded about and ate the food that was still untouched. There was glass on the far wall where people could look in and see the animal inside. Yumi followed Kat into the cage and closed the door behind her. She played with Kat while children pressed their noses up against the glass to see the tiger and her new master. Yumi took some cloth and held it by her side. She wiggled it a little. Kat backed up a few feet, and then came charging at the cloth, as if it was just a measly opponent she needed to charge. Her head collided with it, obscuring her vision. She skidded to a halt and looked around, trying to find the cause of the temporary blackout. Then, she lifted her head and roared deafeningly. The cloth blew up in the air and fell harmlessly on the ground.

"Kat!" Yumi giggled. The tiger looked around and spotted Yumi. She bounded on top of her happily, causing Yumi to fall to the ground. The tiger started licking her face, "Okay, okay! Oh…get off of me."

There was a whine heard from behind a rock. Another tiger came out. Kat ran over and guided the second tiger over to Yumi. It looked up at her and raised its paw. Yumi took it. She felt a rock in between its toes. Using her fingers, she worked it out. When it came out, the tiger looked into her eyes, saying words that couldn't be spoken. Yumi scratched his cheek. (The tiger was a boy.)

"Ramah," she whispered. Tom stood in the doorway.

"What did you say, Yumi?" he asked, his eyes wide.

Yumi straightened up, "Ramah. Isn't that the tiger's name?" The elderly man nodded.

"Yes, but how did you know that?" Tom looked at her quizzically. Yumi shrugged.

"I just remembered a story my grandmother told me about a tiger named Ramah. The name seemed to fit him," she said. Tom also shrugged. Yumi walked to the door, ready to leave, when she heard a kind of moan, and "Don't worry, Kat. I'll be back tomorrow." She kissed the tiger's forehead. A remarkable thing happened. The tiger stood on its hind legs and put its paws on her shoulders. Almost like it was hugging her. She hugged Kat back and walked out the door and into the lobby. People were staring at her as she walked outside and into the sun. She strutted past them boldly.

**Oooo! Where's she gonna go. You're never gonna guess. Sorry about being so harsh on Aelita and Odd. Uh… great. G2G! School… groan.**


	8. The Secret Place

**Be afraid… be very afraid… I'M BACK! Dundundundun… uh, I've had some weird things been happening. If you really want to know what has happened, review and I'll reply. I'm not ashamed to admit, I'm scared. This is really freaking me out… me along with 4 other ppl. I'm serious, if u can't handle scary stories then don't ask me what has been going on. Trust me, it WILL scare you.**

Suddenly a little boy came up to her.

"You're Yumi, right?" he whispered shyly. She nodded, recognizing the boy that had hugged Ulrich at the premier.

"Yep, that's me. And let me guess your name. Give me your hand please," she crouched down next to him. He stuck out his hand and she took it in her own. She touched each of his fingers, made a circle on his palm, and told him to squeeze her hand five times. He did and she told him his name, "Your name is…Kevin Strats. Am I correct?" His eyes widened in amazement and he nodded.

"Are you magic?" he asked.

She smiled, "You could say that." The young boy's mother came up. Yumi winked at her and mouthed the word 'television.' The woman snickered.

"Well, Kevin. It was nice meeting you. And you too, Mrs. Strats. I've got to go. There's somewhere I, uh, have to be," she stood up and noticed a crowd had gathered. She gathered up her courage and pushed through the whispering people. She flipped her hood up so that she wouldn't be followed and she ran. Ulrich had given her directions to the place where he wanted to meet her that day. She followed them exactly and found herself by the most beautiful pond she had ever seen. It was surrounded by tall weeping willows and lush green grass. There were cattails and leaves floating lazily in the water. Flowers of all sorts were grouped together in many places.

"I see you got here all right," said a voice behind her.

"Hello yourself, Ulrich," she laughed. Ulrich came up behind her and put his arms around her waist. He clasped his hands in front of her.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Ulrich whispered in her ear. She nodded and laid her head on his shoulder.

"I made five new friends today. You'll be amazed at who two of them are."

"Oh really? Try me."

"Well, first of all there's Tom from the Wildlife institute from down the road," they both sat down on a blanket Ulrich had laid out.

"You met Tom? He's a great guy. I go there sometimes. Since I don't know what to do with all the freakin' money they pay me in my salary, I donate it there. Anyway, go on," Ulrich stretched out his legs and propped himself up on his elbows.

"Kat and Ramah," she sat Indian-style and rested her elbows on her knees and her chin in her hands.

Ulrich raised and eyebrow, "Who are they?"

"They're two tigers," Ulrich's eyebrows were in danger of disappearing into his hair. She giggled, "Kat doesn't take to anyone. I'm the first one that she's ever liked. If anyone she doesn't trust, which is everyone, gets near me, she starts to growl. Ramah's a shy one. A little older than Kat, I think. I got a rock out of his paw. Somehow, I knew his name. Don't ask me how, because I don't know."

"And the last two?" Ulrich sat up again.

"Does the name Strats ring a bell?" she asked. He shot up like a rocket.

"How did you…how did you know?" he leaned forward.

She giggled at his response, "TV. World Premier. Ever hear of 'em? Kevin came up to me on the street. He's such a sweet little kid. His mom's real nice too. Ulrich this place is beautiful! How did you ever find it?"

Ulrich, who was still standing up from the shock, sat down close to her, "I was running away from the stupid paparazzi. They get really annoying sometimes. I just, sorta…came across…this place. Ran into it, I mean. But yeah, it is pretty."

She sighed and laid her head on his chest. Closing her eyes, she smelled the perfumed air. It smelled just like the flowers around her (me: DUH!). Ulrich smiled at her. He laid down carefully, so as not to hurt her, "So, how are Jeremy, Aelita, and Odd?" Yumi's eyes snapped open. She sat up and wrapped her arms around one of her legs. Not speaking, she stared ahead with cold, hard eyes.

He sat up again and put a hand on her back, "Was it something I said?"

She shook her head slowly, "No. It's not you. It's them. They were acting like my parents! 'Yumi! Where have you been? Why are you wet?' and 'Explain yourself,' was what I got when I got to my hotel room. From Aelita. Then in the morning there was Odd. He most definitely could have been my father. He shoved the paper in my face. He had seen the article. Then I got, 'How do you explain this? This says you met someone out by the lake last night.' For once in my life I thought I would be free of nagging for a week but nooooooooooooo! Jeremy was nice enough to keep quiet. They followed me to the Wildlife Institute. Kat wouldn't let anyone get near me. Jeremy tried to talk me into forgiving them. He was pretty shocked when I told him I'd tell him later at the bowling alley. Ulrich," she laid back down again and snuggled in next to him, "Would you be willing to help me with a surprise?"

"And what would it be?" he asked smirking.

"Will you come to the bowling alley with me? They're all going to be there. They haven't seen you in three years."

Ulrich nodded, "Sure. I'll go. But something tells me that you don't really want to forgive them. Is that true, Ishiyama?"

She shrugged, "I'll forgive them anyway. As long as they promise not to act like that if they see another article." She kissed him. He kissed her back. It had felt good to tell someone what she was feeling. It felt even better when he understood. He let her rest her head on his shoulder. She was stressed, he could feel it. He rubbed her back gently, but firmly. He sat up, still rubbing her back with one hand. He placed the other on her head. Her breath became irregular and she started to sob.

"Shhhh," he whispered in her ear, trying to calm her, "It's okay. Everything's fine."

"Ulrich, I'm confused. I didn't mean to say those words I did. They just came pouring out of me. And-" she was cut off as he put a finger to her lips.

"Shhhh. They'll let you forgive them. Why do you think they followed you, huh?" he didn't get an answer. She was fast asleep. He laid down very carefully, not wanting to hurt the Japanese girl. He stroked her hair and watched as frogs leaped from lily pad to lily pad. Slowly, he too fell asleep. About an hour later he woke up again. Yumi had her arms around his neck and he had his wrapped protectively around her middle. He was about to get up when he heard a sigh and Yumi's arms tightened around his neck. Seeing that she was still sleeping he laid back down.

**Sorry for all you ppl who are reading my other stories, Lost In Her Voice and Lyoko Group Two! I haven't been able to concentrate enough to write more on them. The chapters in this story I've already written, but this is the last already-written chappie, so it may take me longer to update now. PS- to all u ppl who are reading LIHV (Lost In Her Voice) and are guessing what Yumi's drawing, some of u have kinda guessed it. I'll give u a hint: there's three ppl in the picture and they're all on the soccer team. (that should make it SO much easier)**


	9. The Bowling Alley

**Here's the 9th chappie! Full of YumiUlrich goodness… but the next chappie will be full of even more… yay! Kaykay… on with the story… (This is my most popular story… be sure to check out my others by going to my profile!) **

Yumi opened her eyes and saw Ulrich. He smiled at her and sat up as her grip around his neck loosened.

"You ready to go to the bowling alley?" he asked as they both got off the blanket and folded it up. She shrugged.

"Yeah I guess. What did you want to ask me? Because that's the reason we came here, isn't it?"

He just grinned slyly, "You'll have to wait until we meet the others." He kissed her and threw the blanket in the back of his car, which was hidden in the trees. He held open the passenger's door.

"Ma'am?" he gestured at the seat. She giggled and slid into the car. He shut the door and got in his side of the car. Starting the engine, he backed up onto the dirt road. He drove onto the actual pavement and headed toward the bowling alley. Yumi sighed and sank down in her seat.

Ulrich noticed this and put his arm around her, "It'll be fine. You'll see. I promise."

She beamed and looked up at him, "You'd better be right or you'll have to face those reporters yourself."

"Ooo… is Ms. Ishiyama threatening me?" he teased. She playfully slapped his shoulder. "Oww… it seems she got tougher while I was away too… did Odd push you over the edge?"

She laughed, "Yeah. All that teasing about my crush on you gave me a good workout. But I guess he's in for a surprise when we meet him at the alley. Prepare to be mobbed."

"Don't think I became a soccer star for nothing, baby," he winked and pulled into the parking lot.

She took a deep breath and got out of the car. He came up alongside her and put his arm around her shoulders.

"Remember what I said… everything will be okay," he whispered soothingly in her ear. She nodded and pushed open the door to the bowling alley. They walked over to the desk.

"What size?" asked the desk attendant. She spotted Ulrich, "Hi Ulrich! How's your mom?" The girl had blonde her tied up in a ponytail. She had on a pink polo shirt with 'Kaitlynn' in green embroidered on the front and she also had a pair of jeans on.

"Great! And Genevieve? Brassier (pronounced bray-sher) misses her. What about your sister, Jessie. Turner and her sure are smitten with each other." The girl laughed. Then she saw Yumi.

"They're both fine. Jessie's here now. Ulrich? This is Yumi, correct?" she smiled and held out a hand and shook Yumi's, "I'm Kaitlynn Summers."

"Oh, well, I'm Yumi Ishiyama. Pleased to meet you," Yumi said shyly.

"Ulrich, Turner's here you know."

"I'm guessing he's with Jessie."

Kaitlynn grinned, "Yep. They're in lane twelve."

"Cool! Uh, you know my size Kait. And Yumi, your size is…?"

"An eight," (me: I don't know!) Yumi replied. Kaitlynn nodded and grabbed two pairs of shoes from behind the counter. She handed them to the couple.

"Lane thirteen. And have fun kids!"

Ulrich glared playfully at her, "We are _not_ kids. Hello, we're only a year younger than you, you know!"

"Um, Ms. Summers?" Yumi asked timidly.

The girl laughed, "Call me Kaitlynn."

"Okay, uh… Kaitlynn. My friends are coming so when they get here, if they ask for a Yumi Ishyama… tell them where I am."

"Will do!" said the blonde.

Ulrich led Yumi down the row of lanes until they reached number 13. Turner and Jessie were right beside them.

"Ulrich!" Turner hollered. He came and clapped the brunette on the shoulder.

"Hey dude! I brought someone along for Jessie to talk to. I mean it must get pretty boring with you here," Ulrich laughed as Jessie came up and smiled at Yumi.

"Guys, this is Yumi."

"Oh… let's see… I don't really remember. When was the last time you mentioned her?" asked Jessie, acting like she was thinking.

"The last time we saw him!" Turner snorted. Yumi came forward and held out her hand.

"You must be Jessie and Turner," she shook both their hands. Jessie had long dark brown hair that was braided down to the middle of her back. She had on a blue turtleneck and brown corduroys and look a little British. Turner was African American (Me: no offense to anybody out there! Some of my bestest friends are African American! I luv u ppls!). He had on a white t-shirt with red sleeves and a pair of jeans.

They both nodded.

"Yumi Ishiyama."

"Ulrich's girlfriend!" Turner started laughing as Ulrich looked ready to kill him. He tackled the boy and that sent them rolling around on the ground.

"Boys…" Jessie rolled her eyes.

Yumi nodded, "So immature. Hey, was that your sister at the front desk?"

"Kaitlylnn? Yeah, that's her."

"Wow… you guys don't really look a lot like each other."

"I know. I look like my dad and she gets her looks from my mom."

"Ah," Yumi went to her lane, "Ulrich, are you ready to get your but whooped?"

The brunette sprung up, "I'll make you eat your words!"

Yumi laughed as Ulrich grabbed a ball and watched for a signal from the computer to play.

"Ooo, a little competitive now are we?" she teased.

He stuck his tongue out at her like a little kid and rolled the ball. It went pretty fast and he got a strike.

"Hah! Beat that!"

She smiled sweetly, "Oh, I will."

Jessie looked at Turner, "I think these two have little healthy rivalry."

Turner snickered, "But it looks like Yumi could give Ulrich a run for his money." He said that because Yumi had just bowled a strike.

She walked past Ulrich with her nose stuck in the air, "Hmph!"

"So now little Ms. Yumi has a Sissy streak, huh?" Ulrich slipped his arms around her waist and pulled her back to him.

"Ulrich stop! That tickles," she gasped for breath. He turned her around and gave her an Eskimo kiss (me: if u ppls don't know what that is, it's where you rub your nose back and forth against somebody else's).

She laughed and pushed him off of her, "Come on! It's your turn! Loser has to take the winner out to dinner!"

"You're on!" he grabbed his ball again and bowled. He knocked down nine of the pins, and on the second try knocked down the last one.

"Spare!"

She stuck her tongue out at _him_ this time. They bowled for a few minutes with Turner and Jessie also bowling beside them. Then…

"Yumi? And…… OH MY GOSH, ULRICH!"

**Evil cliffie! Hahaha! Can you guess who yelled it? I'll give u a few choices:**

**Jeremy**

**Odd**

**Aelita**

**William**

**Sissy**

**Aaaahhhhhh! Okay, now I want your honest opinion, was this good? Oh, and all u UlrichYumi lovers out there, I promise that the next chappie you'll be dancing around in happiness. If you can guess at what's going to happen to them, then… well… I don't know! I'll… I'll… I'll put you in the next chappie! As… um… one of the gang's cousins or something… I'll make an author's not saying who won and the person that won can review the note and send me a physical and personality description of them! Yeah… and then I'll decide who you're going to be cousins with! Okay? Good luck guessing! And I forgot to mention.. I DON'T OWN CODE LYOKO!**


	10. Author's Note

**Oh my gosh! Only one person guessed and… THEY GOT IT RIGHT! Well… part of it… But the prize goes to…………………………………………**

**LadyKyra13… COME UP AND GET YOUR PRIZE! Okay… now I need you to fill this out and review it to me…**

**Name (first and last –you can make this up if u want… just tell me if u do):**

**Hair Color, Length, & Style:**

**Eye Color:**

**Gender (I'm sorry… but if you're a guy using the name "LadyKyra13", then… well… coughFREAKcough… sorry if that offended you or anything):**

**Height:**

**Typical Daywear (you know… t-shirt & jeans… skirt & blouse…):**

**Makeup, or No?**

**Any pets?**

**Race (American… Chinese… Japanese… British?):**

**Glasses or not?**

**Personality:**

**Age (you can fudge this… or not…):**

**Any Sports (let me guess… basketball… uh huh! I know this from ur story! Yeah, I've read it… it's good!)?**

**Do you have a BF/GF (if you don't you can choose one of the past characters…Thomas, Bobby, an old teammate maybe… I DON'T KNOW!)?**

**Okay and… sign here, sign there, initial here, sign here, sign here, initial here, initial here again, and sign here. That'll just about do it! Kaykay! And don't forget to review person, whoever you are! And please… don't anyone try to fake the winner for yourself… that's rude, crude, and socially unacceptable. Not to mention, I can tell if you're them or not by the writing style. Anywho… thank you to all my reviewers out there… I LOVE YOU GUYS! (Not in a sick way…)**

**-Mi ChIbO-**

**PS- my deadline for the next chappie is when I get 80 reviews… no reviews, no story.**


	11. Forever, And Ever

**I'm really sorry! I couldn't update when I said I would because my family had to go on a retreat! And lo and behold, I could take my laptop in the CAR but not in our CABIN! And the place where we were didn't have Internet access… so… I'M REALLY SORRY! Okay… I wish I had put the deadline at 90 reviews… but that's my next goal, kay? In the morning I had 72 reviews… when I checked at night, I had 81! Gosh, some ppl really are desperate for me to continue… not really desperate, but you know… well, maybe you don't… whatever. I don't own Code Lyoko, kay? But I wish I do… isn't that enough? (Chika: no…) (Me: oh darn… I wish that I did own it though…) But if I did, Sissy and William would have found somebody else cause I can't bear to do anything bad to them, like killing them… Ulrich and Yumi would have kissed and gotten together, and so would Aelita with Jeremy. Okay… I'll stop babbling and I'll let you read Chapter 11 (really, it's chapter ten… but I don't want anyone to get confused, including me… heehee!) Oh, and congrats to LadyKyra13! I'll try to put her in the next chapter. Yeah… I'm done… ON WITH THE STORY!**

Yumi and Ulrich whipped around to see Aelita, Jeremy, and Odd standing there gaping, eyes wide. Aelita was the one that screamed.

"Close your mouths. You look like fish out of water," said Ulrich in a bored tone.

"Is it really _you_?" asked Jeremy. Ulrich and Yumi looked at each other and burst out laughing.

"I'll take that as a yes. What's so funny?" Odd cocked his head. Yumi just shook her head furiously.

"Nothing," she giggled, "Nothing at all."

Ulrich walked up hugged Aelita, Jeremy, and Odd (he gave the guys one-armed hugs… I'm not gay ppls!), and stepped back, wrapping an arm around Yumi's waist. There was and awkward silence between the five friends… or was Yumi still their friend?

Aelita broke the pause, "Well, Yumi?"

Yumi glanced at Ulrich, who nodded encouragingly and stroked her back with the hand that was around her waist. Then, she took a deep breath, "All right… I'll forgive you. On one condition though!" She held up a finger.

"Which is…?" prompted Odd.

Yumi's mouth spread into a sly, Cheshire cat grin, "you have to prove… that you just might be good enough for me and Ulrich to bowl against you."

"Oh, it's on!" Aelita half-shouted. The three new arrivals started up a game next to Ulrich and Yumi. It was decided that the person with the losing score would have to buy the rest of them lunch. They all played their best. Turner and Jessie, who had just finished their game, sat at a table to watch the battling 18-year-olds. Eventually, Ulrich and Yumi tied, Aelita came in second, followed by (surprisingly) Jeremy in third, and Odd got in last place.

"Aww, man…" Odd pouted as he fished out his wallet. He took his friends orders and went up to the counter. The girls sat down with Jessie as Turner got up and went with Jeremy and Ulrich to help Odd with the food. The girls talked until the guys came back, each of them balancing a tray.

"Your banquet awaits you," said Ulrich. He winked at Turner and they both started spinning the trays they were holding. The girls, Odd, and Jeremy watched in fascination as they simultaneously hit the bottoms of the plastic at different intervals, sending the food to the correct person. When the trays were empty, Turner threw his up in the air and bounced it off his shoulder. Ulrich caught it on top of his tray.

"Yo, David… heads up!" the brunette yelled to the guy at the counter. The person called David ducked and Ulrich threw both the trays Frisbee-style on top of a stack of other dirty trays. David gave him a thumbs-up and Ulrich and Turner turned around and bowed. The entire building burst into applause as the boys smiled and took their seats.

"Don't try that at home," they said in unison.

"Showoffs," muttered Jessie.

"Hey! I resent that!" exclaimed Turner. They all snickered and began eating and talking.

Ulrich was done first, so he leaned back in his seat and thrust a hand into his pocket. The tips of his fingers touched something and he smiled and waited for everyone else to be done with their meals.

When they had eaten every last bite that they could, he stood up. The chatting that had broken out ceased and they all stared up at him expectantly. He took a deep breath.

"I'd like to thank you all for being here. And I'd like to personally thank Yumi for inviting me to come."

"You sound to formal… loosen up. It's not like we're at a big fancy dinner party you know," said Odd.

Ulrich just grinned, "I know Odd. Because you're here, and you'd never be invited to a fancy dinner party with the manners you've got."

The entire table burst out laughing, except for Odd, who glared at Ulrich before sinking down in his seat and crossing his arms.

"As I was saying… most of you have known that Yumi and I have liked each other for a long time," he paused as they all nodded, "Well, I thank you guys for not getting in the way of our relationship and not forcing us to get together. Turner, Jessie, and my other friends gave me the support over the past three years that would have come from you if you had been living here in America." Then he turned to face Yumi. She blinked and swiveled on her stool (they were at one of those little bar thingymabobbers… yeah).

"Yumi, I love you."

He got down on one knee.

"And I want to be with you forever."

He pulled out a little velvet box.

"Will you, Yumi Ishiyama, make me the happiest man alive and become my wife?"

Yumi had tears in her eyes.

"Of course I will!" she cried happily. They all started clapping and pretty soon the whole bowling alley was on its feet whistling and clapping. He put the ring on her finger and jumped up, picking her up and spinning her around. She laughed and put her arms around his neck as he set her down. She smiled up at him and he grinned back. He leaned forward and so did she. Their lips met in a passionate kiss and Odd started making catcalls. But nothing could bring them out of the fairytale land that they were immersed in at that moment. Except for the two people that walked in the door at that exact moment and saw them. And they were not happy campers.

**Can you guess who they are? I'll give you one hint: They both used to like Ulrich and Yumi (one liked Ulrich & the other like Yumi). Yeah,., I bet all u ppls will guess it really easily. And for those ppl who didn't know that there were actually _TWO_ contests in chapter 9… you should have read the ENTIRE author's note at the end of that chappie. Kay? Good… READ AND REVIEW! OH YEAH PEOPLES! Cya…**

**-Mi ChIbO-**


	12. Pleasant & UnPleasant

**I'm Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack! RUN AWAy! (Shift key not working… bare with me) Heehee… I'm drinking Coke… so excuse me if there are parts that seem spastic. kay? Here You go! And I don't own Code Lyoko ppls! Neither do I own Nike (this is kinda random: .  that would be me, it's exam week)… but I do kinda own Rachel… except she's a real-life person… OH WELL! I OWN MY STORY! KAY? Now ppls, wait a sec… should I put in some content that makes this story rated Teen? Tell me in your reviews! Okay… I'm done… here u are:**

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"Uh-oh…" said Odd.

"What is it?" asked Turner.

"Look over there. You see the girl with the long black hair and the guy who also has black hair?" Odd asked.

Turner, Jessie, Aelita, and Jeremy looked over.

"Oh, snap," said Jeremy.

"Did they follow us here or something?" Aelita hissed.

"Who _are_ they?" asked Jessie.

Jeremy pointed at the girl, "That's _Sissy_. And _that_," he pointed at the guy behind her, "Is William."

"Sissy… Sissy… rings a bell," said Turner, "The name 'William' does too. Oh yeah! Now I remember! Ulrich said Sissy was like his personal stalker that he hates and she was always trying to get him to go out with her. She even sunk as low as blackmail. And William likes Yumi, right? Yeah… Ulrich says he was a pain in the but."

Odd nodded, "Yeah, that just about sums them up, el retardo and Ms. Self-Absorbed Snob."

Jessie smirked, "If they still like Ulrich and Yumi, then they won't be too happy with what's going on now." The group glanced at the couple, who had just stopped kissing, and laughed. Sissy heard them and looked directly at the cause of the sound. Then she saw who was behind them.

"ULRICH!" she squealed. The snobby girl ran up to the soccer star and threw her arms around him.

"I know that we were separated for those three long and tortured years, but now we're together! Isn't that wonderful?" she sighed dreamily.

"Get off me Sissy! Those years without you were the best years of my life! The only thing that made them bad was the fact that Yumi wasn't there," he pushed her off of him and slipped and arm around Yumi's waist, pulling her close to him.

"You're just saying that, Ulrich. You want to express your love for me so badly, that you want to do it in secret," she cooed.

"Yeah right. I love Yumi. Never in my entire life would I like you. You disgust me. Besides," he took Yumi's hand with the ring on it in his and held it out for Sissy to see, "We're getting married."

"But… but… you love _me_, not _HER_!" Sissy screeched.

Ulrich snorted, "Never in a million years." A flash went off. Odd was holding a camera.

"Ah, a picture's worth a thousand words," Odd chuckled.

Ulrich smirked, "Yeah. And one of Yumi is worth a million. But one of _you_, Sissy, is worth squat."

The gang and the entire crowd burst out laughing. Sissy glared. She raised her foot and brought it down as hard as she could on his foot. He yelled and doubled over in pain.

"ULRICH! Are you okay? Sissy…" she screamed. Sissy, meanwhile, was trying to slip through the crowd.

"Oh no you don't!" someone shouted. It was a girl. She had brown hair with blonde streaks. Her eyes were gray and she wore a gray shirt that said 'I shoot for the heart' in red with a red basketball goal in the shape of a heart and a basketball teetering on the edge of it, a pair of jeans, and shocks that were gray and red. She looked about a year younger than Ulrich, Odd, Jeremy, Aelita, Turner, Jessie, and Yumi. The girl grabbed a pitcher of water and poured it down Sissy's front. It soaked through Sissy's clothes, which happened to be a frilly light-pink shirt and a short, white skirt. The skirt was now see-through, causing everyone to burst out laughing for a second time. You could see her underwear through them.

"Wow. Sissy really needs to grow up. I mean, come on… the Teletubbies?" said Jessie, raising an eyebrow. Sissy shrieked and ran to the nearest bathroom (at this point I accidentally wrote 'background'… heehee).

William had been quiet. At that moment he came up to Ulrich and Yumi, "Congrats," he said simply, "You guys are perfect together. Yumi's happier with you than she is with me, and I respect that. Take care of her, Ulrich." Ulrich nodded and William left.

Yumi helped Ulrich up and he tested his weight out on his foot.

"It's okay. It doesn't really hurt anymore anyways. Who dumped the water on Sissy though?"

"That would be me," the girl walked up to them, 'Hello, cuz."

"Rachel?" Ulrich whispered. His face broke out in a big smile and he embraced her, "Hey, girl what's up? Oh… guys this is my cousin, Rachel Madison. Rachel this is Yumi, Turner, Jessie, Jeremy, Aelita, and Odd." They all waved in turn, except for Odd who stood there with his mouth open.

"Rachel Madison? _The_ Rachel Madison?" Odd gaped, "Basketball queen of the US?"

"Yeah," Rachel grinned.

"Wow, I guess being sporty run in the family," Turner smirked. Jessie slugged him on the shoulder.

"Oww! What was that for, huh?" he asked, rubbing his arm.

She shrugged, "I don't know. I just felt like it." They all chuckled and headed outside.

"We'll see you later!" said Turner. He and Jessie waved and went to Turner's red VW Bug and drove off. Odd, Jeremy, Aelita, Ulrich, Yumi, and now Rachel set off in the direction of nowhere in particular. Ulrich had his arm around Yumi's waist and Jeremy and Aelita were holding hands. They were chatting and laughing as though they had all know each other for their entire lives. They passed a basketball court on the way and Ulrich glanced quickly at it and walked on. Then he froze.

'_Wait a second,'_ he thought. He doubled back and peered inside the court again.

"Thomas?' he said.. A tall black-haired boy looked up at the sound of his name.

He noticed Ulrich, "Ulrich Stern? The same Ulrich Stern I haven't seen for about a year! Hey buddy how ya been?" Thomas laughed and came over and clapped Ulrich on the back as the others joined them.

"Ulrich, who's this?" asked Rachel, her eyes twinkling with mischief.

Thomas stuck out his hand, "Thomas Jacobs."

Rachel took it, her eyes wide, "Really? Wow! I never thought I'd get to meet you in person! You're like, the best basketball player in America!"

"Oh great," Odd rolled his eyes, "Two basketball players in one day. Oh joy."

"Yeah, and think about this, Odd. Someday when you're old and gray, you can tell your grandkids you met two of the greatest basketball players ever all in one day!" Yumi snickered. Thomas looked confused.

"Who's the other one?" he asked quizzically.

Jeremy jerked his thumb over at Rachel, "Talk to Ms. Madison over here."

This time it was Thomas' eyes that bugged, "R-Rachel Madison?"

She made a point of looking away, a blush creeping onto her face, and nodded. He instantly engaged her in a conversation about her latest game.

"The game against Chicago was in California, right?" he asked.

"Yeah, my last game was in Cali. It was in a stadium close to my home," she said.

"You-you live in Cali?" he whispered, "Wow! So do I! I'm visiting my grandparents here and then I'm going back in a month. Which area do you live in?"

"Los Angeles."

"Really? Me too! That's amazing… we've both admired each other without knowing that we live fairly close!"

She turned even redder, if that was possible.

"Hey, do you guys wanna hang out sometime tomorrow?" he asked the group.

"Sure!" said Ulrich, "Let's go to that new club called Space Nine. It's supposed to be really good there."

"Let's do it!" Aelita exclaimed.

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**Yeah, yeah… it wasn't that long. And I got way over 90 reviews! Thank u ppls! Now, I have exams this week and I'm going to be gone on Thursday and Friday (Eastern time) for my All State Chorus. I was the only person in my school that made the first cut… then I made the second audition to! Yippee! I might be tired of singing because the PRACTICE is FIFTEEN HOURS LONG! (through 2 days…) so I might not b able to update. And I'll be gone Saturday and maybe Sunday too. EXAMS KILL! And my teachers are weird. My Social Studies teacher spelled Iraq "Irag" and we were all laughing. This one teacher said that Babylonians were from Babylonia… it was HILARIous! Oh great… my 'Shift' key is acting up again… Die DIE dIE! nonononono… not literally. help i'm stuck in lowercase. AH, THAT'S BETTER! WAIT. NOW I'M STUCK IN UPPERCASE! HEEEEEEEEEEEEELLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP! Okay, that's better. All of a sudden I want and apple  heehee… okay… g2g study 4 Science and (Blech) Spanish (heehee… I almost typed Spanich… heehee) Okay… I'll go. Can u guess what's going to happen at Space Nine? An encounter with Sissy again? Kat and Ramah break out of the Wildlife place and follow Yumi's scent? Or does the tap-dancing blueberry pancake from my other story (Lost In Her Voice) come and pick up Thomas and Rachel and Prance away? You choose. (But if u choose the last one, I'm sorry… but you have mental issues…. HAHAHAHA! This guy at my school wore a shirt that said "I Have Issues" on it! It was sooooooooooo funny!"**


	13. Running From The Truth

**You guys are making me feel so good about this story! I mean, I can't believe I have 100 reviews! Thank you so much! Now… since I wasn't able to update because of All-State (my chorus thingy…), here's a pretty long chappie 4 u! I don't own Code Lyoko… but I may someday! You never know… Muahahahaha! Just kidding… but I might! Stop laughing at me! You're making me feel bad! Maybe I won't give you the next chappie!**

**Readers: …**

**Me: Oh fine… here you go:**

Ulrich fell backwards onto his bed with a smile on his face. Turner came in.

"Hey," he said.

"Hi," Ulrich sat up and grinned cheekily. Turner laughed.

"Nice smile, Romeo. Speaking of which, Pam called. There's some new product that she wants you to model. The theme is Romeo and Juliet. So, how did the second day go?"

Ulrich just smirked and laid back down, "Two words: Unimaginable. Unexplainable."

"Ah. I see," Turner rolled his eyes.

Ulrich hit him with his pillow, "Shut up. Oh, and you'll never guess who I saw today."

"Who, Tony Hawke?" Turner joked, "Johnny Depp? The Pink Panther?"

"No… Thomas. Remember Mr. Basketball Star? Yeah, well it looks like he and my cousin are into each other."

"Ooh… this'll be interesting. But I can't believe that you saw Thomas! Didn't he move to Cali?" Turner asked.

"Yeah, he's visiting his grandparents here for a month and then going back. Both he and Rachel live in LA."

"Mmmm… love is in the air!" Turner sighed, clasping his hands and batting his eyelashes. He twirled around like a ballerina and tripped, falling face-first onto a beanbag. Ulrich started laughing.

"Not funny! So not funny!" Turner said, rubbing his face. Ulrich just kept on laughing. He laughed so hard that he fell back down on the bed in fits of laughter (I'm not one of those ppl who thinks guys should giggle… it just sounds wrong… I'm sorry, but don't you think it's weird?) Ulrich finally stopped laughing and gasped for breath.

Ulrich's mom poked her head in, "What _are_ you doing up here?"

"Turner-" Ulrich started laughing again and was unable to stop.

"It's nothing Mrs. Stern," said Turner, glaring at Ulrich.

"Okay…" said Mrs. Stern unbelievingly, "But keep it sown up here. And Ulrich, if you're going to go pick up Yumi, Odd, Jeremy, and Aelita you'd better start getting ready. Oh yes, and the StarScoop Magazine (I don't know if this is real… so if it is, then I don't own it… if it isn't, then I do own it… Kaykay?) called. They want an interview and I told you that you'd be there tomorrow."

"All right, mom," said Ulrich. His mom nodded and closed the door.

"Do you wanna come?" Ulrich asked Turner, "We're going to Space Nine to meet Thomas and Rachel. Jessie said that she'd come."

"I'll be there. I'll go get ready right now. Meet you downstairs in ten minutes!" he called back as he closed the door.

Ulrich pulled the blinds and got out some clothes for that night. He changed and met Turner and Jessie downstairs. They all went out to Ulrich's other car, a gold Acura®, and drove to the hotel across the lake. Ulrich, Turner, and Jessie got out and went into the hotel.

-With Yumi and Aelita-

There was a knock at the door and Aelita opened it to reveal Ulrich, Odd, Jeremy, Turner, and Jessie standing in the doorway. Yumi stood up and tried to keep herself from staring. Ulrich was wearing faded jeans and a white button-up shirt. He had left the first three buttons undone, partially exposing his tanned chest.

He smiled at her. He couldn't help but stare. She had on a short black mini-skirt. Her shirt was a dark blue. It exposed her upper back. A string tied at the nape of her neck that was connected to the top of the shirt. There was a ring at the top of the top that showed a small circle of her skin. Her hair hung loosely around her face and her makeup consisted of black eyeliner and mascara, blue eye shadow, and clear lip-gloss.

Turner was wearing a white undershirt and a red over shirt with brown jeans. Jessie was wearing a sky blue tank top with a white, layered skirt and her hair was pulled back into a half-ponytail with the ponytail part hanging over the part that wasn't put up. Her makeup was white and blue eye shadow and pink lip-gloss. Aelita had on pink jeans, a glittery pink shirt that was designed to only have one sleeve. Her hair was straight down to her shoulders (sorry, I forgot to mention that Aelita and Yumi grew their hair out… Aelita's is to her shoulders and Yumi's is a little shorter than Aelita's… does that clear a few things up? Good!) and her makeup was pink eye shadow and pink lip-gloss. Jeremy had on a blue polo shirt and khaki pants. Tonight, he had chosen to wear his contacts instead of his glasses. Odd was dressed, well… oddly. He had on a BRIGHT pink and DARK purple tye-dye shirt with splotches here and there. He also had on dark purple pants.

Yumi and Aelita walked out the door and joined them. Ulrich wrapped his arm around her waist and smiled.

"Hello to you too," she laughed. They made their way to Ulrich's car and got in. Turner and Jessie sat in the far back, Odd, Jeremy, and Aelita sat in the middle, and Ulrich drove the car with Yumi in the passenger seat beside him. The car roared to life and they sped off down the road toward the club.

-At Space Nine (Fifteen Minutes Later)-

Rachel spotted the gang as they entered the club. She was wearing a green shirt that hung off her shoulders. Under that she had on a white spaghetti-strap shirt. She also had on a jean skirt with a strip of floaty green material attached to the bottom of it. She tugged on Thomas's arm and pointed at the group. Thomas was wearing a gray shirt with "Jocks Come In Many Sizes" in black on the front. The words were in different sizes. He also had on black jeans and his hair was slightly messed up.

He too noticed the group, "Hey guys! Over here!" They saw him (because he was so tall…) and made their way through the crowd at the club.

"Yo, Turner! And Jessie too! What's up?" Thomas asked, clapping Turner on the back.

"The ceiling," said Turner sarcastically.

While the guys were talking, Rachel put a finger to her lips and sneaked out onto the dance floor. The rest of the girls bit back giggles and followed her, being sure to duck down so they wouldn't be seen. They went out to the middle of the floor and started dancing and laughing as they saw the guys' faces when they noticed that the girls were gone.

'_Wait a second,'_ thought Yumi as she peered over at the guys again, _'Where's-'_

She squealed as she felt two strong arms wrap around her waist and pull her towards them.

"Gotcha," Ulrich whispered in her ear.

She giggled, "Stop, Ulrich! That tickles!"

He moved his hands to her hips and pressed her body to his. Yumi closed her eyes as they swayed to the music. At the end of the song, he turned her around really fast and kissed her. She lost herself in the kiss as it deepened (Frenchie Frenchie ppls! Or… just imagine that they were battling…if you know what I mean… ;) teehee…or I'll just say that they were tongue-tied. Get my meaning?)

Yumi pulled back from the lack of oxygen and laid her head on Ulrich's chest. She could feel his heartbeat and hers sped up as he ran his hands up and down her back.

"I love you," he whispered in her ear.

She smiled against his chest and murmured, "I love you too." He stroked her hair softly. A fast song came on and they broke apart. There was suddenly an ear-splitting scream that pierced the air.

"Uuuuuuuuulllllllllllrrrrrrrrrrriiiiiiiiiiiiiicccccccccccchhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" (heehee… isn't it so fun to stretch out peoples' names… oh yeah!)

"Great, how did she find us?" asked Ulrich. Then he froze as a roar took place of the scream. The room got very quiet. Then the entire crowd started screaming and running around in terror. Yumi recognized the roar.

"Kat," she whispered. She began to fight her way to the door.

"Whoa, whoa whoa, now wait a minute!" Ulrich grabbed her arm, "What are you talking about?"

"It's Kat! Kat's here! Right now!" Yumi yelled. Ulrich was so shocked that he let go of her arm and she slipped away to the door. Kat and Ramah stood there proudly. Sissy was backed up against a table, for the tigers had scared her so bad that she couldn't move. Yumi ran forward.

"KAT!" she hollered, "RAMAH!" The room got deathly quiet as the tigers turned to face her. She walked forward and stuck out her hand. Kat came forward, sniffed it, and rubbed against her arm. Yumi got down on her knees and hugged her. There was a big purr that came from deep in the tiger's throat. The crowd let out a huge sigh of relief. Thomas poked Ulrich in the side.

"That is one brave girl you've got there, Ul," he grinned.

Ulrich smiled as Yumi stood up and started talking to some of the caretakers from the reserve that had just come in the door, "I know, Tom. I know." Yumi left the caretakers and walked back over to Ulrich.

"Hello," she said. Her voice was casual, as if two tigers bursting into a club was normal. Ulrich laughed.

"You sure do have away with animals," said Thomas.

Yumi shrugged, "Maybe those two, but not really. Birds fly away from me just as they do any other person. Kat and Ramah I met earlier and I'm the only person Kat'll take to. So, technically I was the only one that could stop her. Ramah just follows Kat like he's her second shadow. So… yeah."

Ulrich smirked. But he paled as he heard, "Ulrich, hun, is this girl bothering you?"

He whipped around as a blonde-haired girl walked up to him.

"Hello_ Caitlyn_," he hissed out the last part, but she didn't seem to notice.

"Darling, I didn't know that you would be here! I'd have dressed up nicer if I did," she said in a sugary voice.

"Yes, but that wouldn't have looked too nice," Turner, who had come up beside Ulrich, sneered.

"Oh, my dear… it is so good that you get to see me away from all that soccer," Caitlyn sighed. She came up to Ulrich and placed her arms around him. Yumi froze. He wasn't pulling away. Tears filled her eyes and she slowly backed up. She disappeared into the crowd. Ulrich paled as he heard a small 'thump" of an object falling on the wood floor. He pushed Caitlyn off of him. He crouched down on one knee and picked up the small ring on the floor. There was a ruby heart in the center surrounded by small diamonds and four smaller hearts. His heart almost stopped and he balled up the ring in his fist. A single tear made it's way down his cheek as he pushed up off the ground.

"Ulrich, sweetie, is there anything wrong?" Caitlyn laid a hand on his back.

He whipped around with fire in his eyes, "You freak!" he spat out, "Why'd you have to go and do that, huh? Can't you ever take the hint and leave? I hate you! Yumi is the one I love and you had to go and do that! Now she'll probably never speak to me again! Get out of my sight you IDIOTIC, SELF-ABSORBED girl!" He turned swiftly on his heel and stormed out of the club.

"Ouch," said Aelita. She, Jeremy, Odd, Jessie, and Rachel had come over when they saw Yumi run from the club.

"Did Yumi throw the ring down?" asked Rachel.

"Yeah," said Turner sadly.

"Doesn't that mean she's breaking the engagement?" asked Odd. They all looked at each other with a loss for words.

"I hope he finds her and she lets him explain," whispered Thomas. Rachel slumped down onto him. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders. Turner and Jeremy did the same to Jessie and Aelita (Tur with Jes and Jer with Aei… appropriate couples ppl!).

-With Ulrich-

"Yumi!" Ulrich called into the night, "Yumi! Yumi where are you? Please answer me!" He kept on calling her name and running.

'_I have to find her. I have to! I just have to…'_ he kept on thinking. Suddenly he heard a soft sniffle. He followed the sound to a tiny two-person bus shelter. Yumi sat there crying silently.

"Yumi," he breathed. She started and stood up quickly.

"Go away," she sobbed.

"No," he said simply. He took a step forward, cornering her.

"Please just go. I don't want to hear it," she mumbled.

"Yumi just hear me out-"

"NO!"

Her outburst startled him.

She looked ashamed, "I-I..."

He recovered and calmly said, "Yumi, I love you and only you. Caitlyn is just another Sissy clone. I hate her and she just won't take the hint and leave. The reason I didn't pull away was because I couldn't. She had me trapped and I was in such a position that I couldn't move. Believe me, if I could have, I would have." A light rain had begun to fall. He pressed her up against the cool glass. His body was pressed to hers, trapping her. He bent down and kissed her more passionately than he had ever before. Her eyes slowly closed and she felt him take her hand and slip the ring back onto her finger. Then he picked he up by her legs (he put his hands on her thighs and picked her up… her legs were wrapped around him and he held her up that way… Kaykay?) and spun around. She laughed and tightened her grip on his neck. He slowly let her down and put his arms around her waist.

"I'm sorry if I hurt you," he said quietly, "Are we still engaged?"

She smiled up at him, her tears gone, "Of course."

**Wow… I think this was the longest chappie in forever! I amaze even myself sometimes. Okay… here we go, another contest: When do you think that Kadic will go back to France? Huh? HUH? Plz. Read and Review! Thanks for all the support… my next goal is 140 reviews… let's see if you can do that! HAH! Okay…. Moment… yadayadaya… I'm bored…**

**-Mi ChIbO-**

**I wanna apple … again…**


	14. Just Hangin' Around

**Okay, okay… I don't own Code: Lyoko. Happy? I'm not! Waaa! Uh… um…. Moment's over… here's Chapter 14. Oh yeah… remember, the last chappie, #13, was bad because 13 is a bad #! Just kidding! But that's part of the reason that Yumi ran away… just in case you didn't figure it out already…**

The next few days passed by quickly for the gang. Before they knew it, they only had one day before Kadic had to go back to France. They were all sitting in Ulrich's house- Yumi, Ulrich, Turner, Jessie, Jeremy, Aelita, Odd, Thomas, and Rachel- eating popcorn, drinking soda, and trying to think of something to do.

"Umm… we could play a board game?" suggested Rachel.

"Yeah! Let's play uh…" Odd tried to think of a game.

"How about we play DDR?" suggested Jessie (for all of you who are immune to this… DDR means Dance, Dance Revolution).

"Sure," shrugged Ulrich. He and Turner went to drag out the mats and plug them into the PlayStation 2.

Ulrich pressed a button on the remote and the game started up. Then he grinned and bowed out of the way, extending his arm toward the mat, "Ladies first."

"No no no… you're too kind," said Yumi, shaking her head vigorously as Ulrich prodded her in the back, forcing her onto the hard mat.

Ulrich jumped onto the second mat, "I bet I'll beat you!"

"Oh, sure! You wish!" scoffed Yumi. She scrolled through the songs until she found a really fast one. Then she set her level bar on 'heavy' (that's the highest, and hardest level in DDR… I can't do it… I can only do beginner and sometimes standard… and fast songs usually have more um… I'll just say 'arrows' in them… Kaykay?). She smiled sweetly at him and he grumbled and set his on 'heavy' also.

"Let the games begin!" Rachel threw a handful of popcorn at her cousin and his fiancé.

"Hey!" Ulrich pretended to pout and ran his hands quickly through his hair to get all the kernels out. Yumi laughed and started the game. Despite his coming in late, he fell into step beside her and soon they were both very into the game. They played the next two stages until finally the last song was done. In the end, Yumi won.

Turner shook his head sadly, "I never thought I'd see the day when someone- especially a _girl_- beat Ulrich in DDR."

Yumi walked over to Ulrich and poked him in the chest with a, "HA!"

He rolled his eyes and fell backwards onto the couch. She squealed as she went down with him. He raised an eyebrow, a slight smile on his face. Thomas got up and stepped onto the first mat.

"Ooh! Me too!" Rachel giggled. The sugar-high girl jumped onto the second mat and set the level to her liking. Thomas matched his to hers and they both choose a song. Yumi and Ulrich relaxed and sat back to watch them battle. Ulrich slid his arm around Yumi's waist and pulled her close. She giggled as he entwined his hand with hers. She moved to sitting in his lap and put her head on his shoulder.

"I love you," she whispered.

He nuzzled her neck playfully, "I love you more.

"Yeah right.'

"Wanna bet?" he wrapped his other arm around her upper back and pulled her down onto him.

"Sure, I'll bet," she laughed quietly. He kissed her passionately over and over again, only stopping for a quick breath at certain intervals. Odd's voice broke them out of their romantic state.

"Aww, get a room," the blonde called from an armchair on the opposite side of the room.

"You're just jealous 'cause you don't have a girl. You've dated them all already- some of them at the same time- so they hate you and you broke up with almost all of them.

"Yeah, yeah, don't rub it in," said Odd huffily. He crossed his arms and sunk down in his chair with his bottom lip sticking out.

"Ooh, I sense some waterworks coming," Aelita giggled.

Jessie grabbed an umbrella from the (guess it…) umbrella stand by the door and positioned, as if there was a big flood coming and she was going to block it with the measly umbrella.

"I'm prepared!" she grinned. Everyone laughed; except for Odd. He didn't seem to find it funny. He just sunk down lower in his seat.

"Oh yeah, make fun of the odd one," he pouted.

"Well, the name certainly fits," Rachel snickered. She and Thomas had just finished, and Rachel had won (LadyKyra13, I don't know if u r good at DDR, but in my story you will be! That should make you even happier! Yay!).

"Jer, Aei, you're up next!" Ulrich smirked. Jeremy immediately started to turn red. He mumbled something incoherent.

"Uh… sorry, we didn't catch that," said Thomas.

"I don't dance…" Jeremy said quietly.

"So?" said Aelita, "Neither do I. But I'm going to do it! Come on, Jeremy. It'll be fun. And you can learn from it too." The pink-haired girl got up and pulled on his arm.

"Oh fine," he sighed and got on a mat.

"Yay!" said Aelita happily. She jumped on the other mat.

"Okay, show us your moves Einstein," Odd smirked. Jeremy glared at him as Aelita scrolled through the songs. She suddenly stopped on one and pressed 'Start.' Jeremy did his best, but still lost. Turner and Jessie did it next, and Jessie won.

"Guys, it just isn't your day," giggled Rachel. Odd jumped up and rushed to the mat.

"I'm gonna do it by myself and see if I get an A," (in DDR, you're score is like an A, B, C, D, E, and so on… I don't remember all the levels…) he grinned.

"Good luck with that," muttered Ulrich. Odd just smirked and started scrolling through the songs. He suddenly stopped at one and fell to the floor, laughing hysterically.

"What is it?" asked Yumi, peering at the large TV (Chika: if it was large then she wouldn't have needed to peer / Yumi: oh will you shut up/ ME: now, now, let's be nice.)

"Oh great," Jeremy groaned. The song was 'I Like To Move It, Move It' from Madagascar. Odd choose it, still laughing very hard. But he soon stopped when he realized that it was still on heavy from when Turner and Jessie had been playing. He tried his best, but made the worst possible score. Yumi was giggling as she lay in a relaxed position on Ulrich's chest. Odd just huffed and put it on 'standard' and selected a new song. While he was dancing, there came a squawk from the hallway and the sound of nails on wood. Rachel gasped.

"Oh my gosh! Kiki! Ton-Tom! Stop that right now!" she shouted, running into the hallway. They heard her scolding voice and a pitiful yip come from the corridor. When she came back, two animals accompanied her. A tiny little floor mop of a dog and a parakeet that was perched on the dog's head.

"Guys, this is Ton-Tom," she gestured at the dog, "And the parakeet is Kiki. They were running in the hall, sorry."

They all just smiled. Then Odd yelled, "Aww, come on!" He was staring at the screen and was a point away from getting an 'A'… so he had a 'B.'

They all started laughing as Odd played his final round and got his score, never getting an 'A.'

"Aww… so sad!" Yumi ran a finger down her cheek, "Tear, tear."

Everyone started laughing and Ulrich's mom stuck her head in.

"Ulrich, your father's making hamburgers and hotdogs out on the grill. You kids can come outside and choose what you want for lunch now," she said before she left. The group filed out talking excitedly. Except for Ulrich and Yumi.

"Yumi, would you like to come to a photo shoot with me this afternoon?" he asked.

"Sure, but… will I, will I be allowed?" she whispered.

He laughed, "Of course! Pam'll love you! Oh, she's my manager, I guess you didn't know that."

Yumi nodded.

"And Yumes?" he said quietly, "If we keep in touch by telephone, we can plan the wedding. And we can send pictures by e-mail. Would that be all right?"

A smile graced her features, "Yeah, I guess so."

He just smirked and walked outside with her, an arm wrapped around her waist.

**Yeah, yeah… I know. It was a stupid ending. No, this is not the end of the story. I hope you liked this chappie! And you guys, plz read the story called 'Gothic Rainbow'… it's really good… and she put a song I wrote in it! Yay! Now don't forget to read and review ppls. Meanwhile, I'll go eat breakfast… heehee… it's 8:13… I got up at 7:30. This is my day for finishing most of the stories I've written, putting them onto the computer, and finally putting them on fanfiction, kay? So don't rush me! Now, who thinks Yumi and the rest of the gang (including Rachel and Thomas) will go back to France or LA… whichever they came from, will go back in the next chappie? Huh? Okay… READ AND REVIEW PPLS!**


	15. Hugs And Kisses

**I don't own Code: Lyoko ppls… O MY GOSH IT'S TIME FOR THE SHOW! Oh well… I've missed it for a couple days, so another one won't kill me. (Checks site and finds out name of episode) Oh, besides… I've already seen that one. So w/e. I'm so bored. But here's chapter uh… 15 I think. Yeah, it's fifteen.**

Yumi and Ulrich walked out onto the patio. Ulrich's dad called over to them from across the yard.

"Hey do you guys want hotdogs or hamburgers?" he yelled.

"Hotdog!" they hollered simultaneously. Yumi smiled at her fiancé and kissed him on the cheek. But he turned his head at the last minute, catching his lips on hers. She just smiled against his mouth and broke off the kiss. He stuck his bottom lip out in a pout. She laughed and poked him in the stomach. He barely jerked forward as she slipped out of his grasp and started running around the lawn.

"Catch me if you can!" she giggled. He growled playfully and tore after her. She turned around, jogging backwards, and blew him a kiss before racing away again.

"Why you little!" he roared. He let out a burst of energy, catching up with her and grabbing her around the waist. She squealed as he kissed her neck multiple times.

"I've caught you, my slippery friend," he whispered mysteriously in her ear.

"Shut up," she yelped as he started tickling her sides.

"Ulrich… Stop… Please… just stop!" she said between gasps and fits of laughter. He just grinned and stopped, letting her catch her breath. He sat on the soft grass and stared up at her. He was propped up on his right elbow and his right leg lay on the ground and his left foot was by his right knee, therefore resulting in his leg bending. He had his left arm draped casually over his stomach and was squinting up at the clouds. Yumi let herself plop down on the ground perpendicular to Ulrich. She laid back onto him, one of her shoulder blades resting on his left knee and the other on his chest. He removed his arm from across his stomach and put it around her shoulders.

"I love you." The words tickled her ears and she smiled.

"Why?"

He blinked, then recovered from his momentary state of shock, "Well, you're beautiful, you don't care what others think of you, you have your own sense of style- all black, but not gothic-, and you can see the greatness in people when sometimes even they can't see it themselves. That's why I love you."

"Mmmm," she murmured as she closed her eyes.

'KIDS! THE HOTDOGS ARE READY!" Ulrich's dad yelled at them from his station at the grill.

Yumi and Ulrich got up and went over to grab their plates. Once they had them, they went to go sit down with the rest of the gang (and when I say gang, I include Rachel, Thomas, Turner, and Jessie too).

They all talked and laughed and when they were done, they grabbed a Frisbee that was out on the patio and started throwing it around. Ulrich glanced at his watch.

"Shoot," he jogged over to Yumi and grabbed her hand.

She looked at him questioningly, "What is it?"

"I have eight minutes to get to the photo shoot. You're coming, right?" he asked breathlessly. She laughed and nodded. He grinned and pulled her toward the fence.

"See ya later guys! I have to get to the photo shoot! BYE!" he yelled as they rushed out, closing the gate behind them. Ulrich and Yumi climbed in Ulrich's car (the Lexus LF-A. if u don't know what it looks like, search for it under Google images) and drove off in the direction of the studio. When they arrived, Ulrich got out and quickly went over to Yumi's side to help her out. She giggled as he opened the door and bowed.

"Mademoiselle?" he held out his hand.

"Kind sir," she took it, stepped out of the car, and curtsied.

"You might need to go back in time a little further. The car doesn't really fit the image," said a voice behind them. Ulrich turned, still holding Yumi's hand, and smiled.

"Hey Pam! This is Yumi Ishiyama. Yumi, meet my manager, Pam Telerose."

Pam beamed and held out a hand, "Simply wonderful." Yumi shook her hand.

"Ooh, that's a nice firm grip you've got there. Of all the times you mentioned her, Ulrich, I never expected her to be this pretty."

Suddenly, a petite girl with long blonde hair came up to Ms. Telerose.

"Oh hello Lisa. What is it?"

"Pam, we have a problem. Amy found out that she had an appointment with her plastic surgeon and can't make the shoot," Lisa said, breathing deeply.

"Oh no! Whatever will we do?" Ms. Telerose bit down on her nails, "Well, we need a replacement. Good thing we're ahead of schedule. But who will we use?"

Ulrich came up beside his freaked-out manager and whispered something in her ear. The woman brightened.

"That's a great idea. But are you sure she'll agree to do it?"

"Positive."

"Okay then," she turned to a very confused Yumi, "Dear, have you ever modeled before?"

Yumi looked shocked, "N-n-n-no."

"Oh that's quite all right. Would you be willing to model as Juliet for a new shampoo?"

"Uh… sure. But I'm-"

"Splendid! Oh thank you darling, thank you! Ulrich will guide you through the simple steps of the commercial."

"Wait a sec Pam. Commercial? I thought you said photo shoot!" Ulrich half-shouted.

"Did I? Well, I was mistaken. You'll be acting in a commercial for the new shampoo called 'Olden Scent.' Tom can give you the script and run you through it. I don't think it'll take long for you two to figure it out. It's very simple. Oh, here he comes now!" she stuck her hand up in the air and waved at a short man in a sharp suit, "Tom! Over here!"

"Hello Pam, Ulrich, oh and this must be Ms. Yumi. Word is already going around about you taking Amy's place. Now, about the script… Here are your copies. The set is over there; just don't touch anything yet please. You can practice until we call you for costumes and be sure that you have passion in your acting. Oops! There's Gary. He's the one shooting the commercial. I have to go talk to him about the lighting crew. They haven't shown up yet. Bye! Hey Gary!" he called and walked briskly over to a salt-and-pepper haired man.

"I'm going to kill you for getting me into this," Yumi hissed at Ulrich.

"I highly doubt it. 'Cause I die first in battle and then you kill yourself with a deadly snake. Remember the story?" he teased.

"Oh shut up or you really _will_ die in battle. Okay, Juliet is up in her tower. I guess that would be the tower," she said, pointing toward a tall fake-stone tower.

"Well spotted."

"Whatever. Say, where do you come in?"

"Page three, line eighteen."

"What!" she yelled, "You mean _I'm_ the lead part? You're dead ten times over Stern! No, scratch that- eighty!"

"Now, now, Ishiyama… let's be nice," he ducked as she swung her script at his head. He grabbed her arm (the one that had the script in it) and drew her toward him, capturing her lips in a long, passionate kiss. She broke away quickly, a blush forming on her cheeks.

"Ulrich! NDOPA!" she said, very embarrassed. He just smiled and embraced her again.

"NDOPA my-" She slapped him playfully.

"Naughty, naughty. No using potty words," she giggled.

"Who says I was going to say a potty word?"

She ducked out of his hug and ran to the stage, "Me," she called over her shoulder.

"Oh, you infuriate me."

"Get used to it. We're gonna be married."

"What's this?" asked Pam as she came up to the stage (Ulrich had come onstage after Yumi as well), "Did I hear correctly? Is Ulrich Stern, the quiet and mysterious, getting married to the beautiful Yumi Ishiyama?"

"Yep," said Ulrich casually. He slipped his arms around Yumi's waist and clasped them in front of her stomach, "To the girl of my dreams."

Yumi turned, if anything, even redder as Pam asked them questions- how long had they know each other… when did they get betrothed… when's the wedding… all that jazz. Ulrich was mainly the one to answer the questions.

"Pam, how much time do we have to practice?" asked Ulrich.

"Oh, about ten to fifteen minutes. I'll leave you two at that."

The blonde walked away, leaving the two teens to practice their lines and actions. Yumi climbed up the stairs and went into the room that was at the peak of the tower. All that covered it was a roof. She read through her actions, since there weren't any lines until a good two minutes into the play. She did at the directions said and then went into the lines. She wasn't all that good, in her opinion. She stepped onto the balcony to call to 'Romeo' she played what she thought was horrible acting. But after she had finished her line, Ulrich and the rest of the crew stood there dumbfounded.

"Um…Ulrich, your line," Pam whispered to the shocked brunette. She smiled up at Yumi, who grinned back weakly.

"Oh! Uh, yeah… Juliet, my love, come down from your tower so that I may embrace you fully with my arms and stroke your silky black hair with my fingers." Ulrich read his line off of the electronic letter-board (I don't know what it's called… it's like a board where messages appear on it…).

"But Romeo, it is just in the wee hours of the morning. Do you think it is right? We should both be in bed."

"Ah, but my Juliet, were you not awake to hear the sound of my footsteps echoing through the early morn? Were you not awake, waiting for my visit today? How else would you have known that I, Romeo, was here early in the bright morning light awaiting the sound of your melodious voice? My Juliet, you were awake. Awake and waiting for me, my love. So come down from your tower and kiss me like you always have."

"Of course, my darling. How foolish of me to not see the reason why I was awake. My ears picked up the sound of your footsteps calling to me from the soft earth. I will come, oh my fearless knight." She walked back into the tower and in a moment, appeared at the base of her tower. Then, she ran to 'Romeo' as the script had told her and hugged him. He kissed her on the lips and a voice came from the speakers stationed around the stage.

"Do you want your love to love you? Then try our new 'Olden Scent' shampoo. It'll bring you right back to the Romance Period. The olden times."

Yumi and Ulrich broke the kiss and took a bow as the crew started thundering their applause.

"Now, give me that passion on film, and I'll be the happiest man alive. But for now, let's get you two dressed and your stage makeup put on," said Tom. Yumi quickly kissed Ulrich on the cheek and hurried over Pam, who was gesturing to her. She was then whisked away to a woman who took her into a room and started measuring her and pulling out different costumes. It would be just like the practice. But this time, she would be dressed up, with makeup on, and with a camera following her every move.

**Didja like it? I made up all that Romeo and Juliet stuff because I didn't know what they really said and I was too lazy to look it up. So you know the drill ppls… Read and Review, or I'll have the snake that killed Juliet come back alive and kill you! Mua hahahaha! Jk. Yeah, yeah… g2g write more for LIHV (lost in her voice). I'm so bored it's not even funny. So review soon so I can read what you write about my utterly stupid story! Okay, judging by how many review I got, maybe it's not so stupid. But I have finished 7 out of 16 stories! Go me! Oh yeah… only 9… more… to… go… gosh. I'm such a procrastinator. Later! Buh-bysies!**

**-Mi ChIbO-**

**PS- NDOPA means… well, if u don't know just ask me in a review.**

**PSS- I'm not done with the story yet… there's still a long way to go.**


	16. Take One, Slap One

**I don't own Code Lyoko… I'm bored… I don't own anything else if it is an actual thing in real life… so on and so forth. Let's get on with the story ppls.**

Yumi flinched as a needle poked her in the side.

"Whoops! Sorry dear. Almost done and… there!" said the costume manager as she cut away a hanging thread. Yumi stepped down off of the stool to look in the mirror. She was in a floor-length purple dress. It was embroidered with gold thread and looked absolutely beautiful, especially on Yumi. The sleeves were a dark red and so was a little strip of the skirt of the dress. The strip was positioned in her front and had a see-through, gold, net-like cloth over it with flowers stitched on. The sleeves had slits of purple on the sides, puffing the shoulder area of the sleeve out. There were gold ribbons attaching the sleeves and the skirt to the bodice, which was stiff, but comfortable. Pam knocked on the door and poked her head in. she smiled when she saw Yumi.

"That's beautiful! Now we need to get to the makeup, jewelry, and hair. Come, come with me," she opened the door all the way and beckoned toward Yumi. Careful of the dress, the raven walked away and followed Pam to another room. Inside, it was very bright.

"Sit in one of the chairs, honey. I need to get Rosita and Johnnie," said Pam. Yumi did so and Pam rushed out the door, coming back seconds later with a tall, stern-looking Chinese man and a petite little woman. The woman clapped excitedly when she saw Yumi.

"Ah, she is very beautiful!" she said with a slight French accent, "We must get started right away." She and the man started pulling out various items- makeup kits, hairbrushes, spray bottles, and the like. Rosita pushed her back in the chair.

"Close your eyes," she instructed. Yumi obeyed and she felt light brush strokes on the tops of her eyelids. A hairbrush pulled at her hair gently as Johnnie was thinking about the style it should be in. Rosita finished Yumi's makeup and said that she could open her eyes. Johnnie claimed he was about done. Yumi felt a piece of cool metal slide onto her forehead. Johnnie stepped away and Yumi got a clear view of herself in the mirror. She blinked and thought, _'Is that really _me_?'_

Her hair was slightly flipped outwards and Johnnie had cut some of it. It was now layered and a gold ring was set around her head. Her eyes had a slight purple on them and her lips were a fading red, but the lip-gloss on top of the lipstick made them shine.

"Magnificent. Simply wonderful," Pam breathed. Yumi was still astonished at her appearance.

"Dear, they're all ready to start shooting. Let's get you out there. Come on!" Pam gestured to the tower. She led Yumi up the stairs and sat her down on the stool by the vanity, "Break a leg," she whispered in Yumi's ear before hurrying out of the camera's way.

"Scene one, take one. Aaaaand… action!" said the director. Yumi brushed her hair with the old-fashioned comb on the vanity. She heard a soft _pit-pat pit-pat pit-pat _of footsteps. They sounded real, even if they came from a sound effect crew. She got up and walked toward the balcony.

"Cut! That was very good, Ms. Ishiyama, but let's do it again. Scene one, take two!" the director called from his chair. They did this over and over and over again for about what seemed a hundred times. Finally, the director was satisfied.

"Okay. Switch to balcony view; get Romeo out there and Juliet? You, on the balcony, now!" the director yelled into his megaphone. Yumi obliged and soon they were ready to film the next part of the commercial. Ulrich was in a woodland-type brown and white suit. It was as if he had just been in a blacksmith's shop. He had a little soot on his left cheek and there was a streak of dirt on the front of his shirt. Yumi did her lines without fault the first time. But on the next few tries, she froze up.

"Cut, cut, cut! Yumi, you need to relax. Now. Let's try that again. Scene five, take four."

This time, Yumi relaxed- physically and mentally. When that scene was done, she was supposed to come out of the tower and run to 'Romeo.' She did… about a million times. Then, the script said that they had to kiss.

Yumi was stiff as Ulrich pressed his mouth to hers. But when she felt his arms tighten around her and caress her hair, she let herself melt in his arms. She put her hands on his arms and felt his muscles tighten and loosen while he rubbed her back.

"And cut! That was wonderful! Now, let's do that again."

And so they did… fifteen times. The director was finally satisfied and they were both sent away to get dressed in their regular clothes again.

Yumi washed her face and walked back to the dressing room. She put her hands in the pockets of her jeans and looked up at the different sets around her. There was one for a herbal tea commercial, the I Luv U makeup brand, a heating company. Even a pancake set for a company that made frozen pancakes that you heat up. Yumi smiled and continued to walk down the center of the path that twisted through the sets. As she walked, she didn't notice Ulrich come out of his dressing room. He came up behind her.

"Boo," he whispered in her ear. She jumped and whipped around. He was rolling around on the floor in fits of laughter.

"Shut up," she muttered. He just grinned and got up off the ground.

"Little Ish got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning," he smirked, "Is little Ishiyama okay?" His arms encircled her waist and drew her toward him. She placed her hands on the lower parts of his upper arms like she had before.

"I don't know," she cocked her head with a sly smile on her face, bringing her head closer to his, "If you ever make me do that again you'll get your tongue ripped out."

"Well at least I'll still be able to kiss you," he brought his face even closer to hers.

"You will, huh? Well let's just see about that," she threw her arms around his neck and locked her lips with his. She lifted her feet off the floor and he twirled around, still kissing her. Suddenly a voice rang out clearly through the building.

"Ah, the brainless oaf has returned to steal my man."

Yumi and Ulrich turned their heads to see…

"Caitlyn. Did you not hear me at Space Nine? Leave me alone already!" Ulrich pulled Yumi closer to him. She rested her cheek on his chest and beamed up at him.

"Now why would I do that?" asked Caitlyn in her snobbish voice.

"Because of this," Yumi wriggled out of Ulrich's firm grip and walked up to Caitlyn. Raising her hand, she slapped her across the face. A camera flashed and Yumi's hand made contact with Caitlyn's cheek. The girl stood there shocked as Yumi strutted past her and out of the building. Ulrich bit back a laugh and followed his girlfriend. When he met up with her outside, he entwined his hand with hers.

"That's what I call a job well done," he laughed.

**Yep, that's what I call a job well done. No, the story's not done yet… there's still a long ways to go. But yeah. Anywho, a lot of ppl asked what NDOPA meant from the last chappie. It means _No Display Of Public Affection_, if you didn't already know. Yeah… so… anywho… READ AND REVIEW! Bye!**

**-Mi ChIbO-**

**beep…**


	17. Until Death Do Us Part

**This is a stupid little chappie… or so I think. But you can read it anyways. I don't own Code Lyoko, or anything else that happens to not be mine. But I do own Thomas, Turner, Jessie, Ton-Tom, Kiki, Reggie, Bobby, Howard, karl, Joseph, Scott, Freddy, Ron, Jerry, Winston, Ed, Oliver, Nick, Caitlyn, Kaitlynnm, Pam, Tom, Tom, Mrs. Reed, Mr. Cole, Mrs. Stratton, Mrs. Fender, Mr. Ramsey, David, Lisa, Gary, and Amy. Oh, and ME of course… I have to own myself. Duh… okay… on with the show!**

The next few hours and the next day went by fairly quickly. Soon, it was time for Yumi, Odd, Jeremy, and Aelita to go back to France and for Thomas and Rachel to go back to Los Angeles. They were all at the airport, packed and ready to go and Ulrich, Turner, and Jessie were there to see them off. But they still had about half an hour. The two flights were about a gate away from each other, so them gang could go back and forth between them. First, the group from France left their luggage with Jim and Rachel & Thomas left theirs with their bodyguards (the bodyguards had flown in to fly them back safely… kaykay?).

"Well… who wants lunch?" Odd grinned.

"You do. Along with breakfast, dinner, and snack time," Rachel laughed.

"Oh sure, pick on svelte one," Odd grumbled.

Jessie giggled, "You can bet that we will."

"Yep, that's our job," Aelita stated.

"Well I don't care… I want food!" Odd yelled. A lot of people looked at them strangely.

"Odd," Jeremy hissed, "You're attracting unwanted attention toward us…"

He was right. Because right then, somebody screamed, "IT'S ULRICH STERN, RACHEL MADISON, AND THOMAS JACOBS EVERYONE!"

"Oh great," Thomas muttered.

"Remind me to thank you later Odd," Ulrich growled.

"I have an idea!" Yumi said, "Give me a sec, I'll be right back."

"Wait, YUMI!" Ulrich yelled. But she was already gone and people were swamping him, Rachel, and Thomas. In a moment, she was back.

He grabbed her arm, "What the heck were you doing?"

"Just a sec…" she said. She had a little toy car in hand and also a screwdriver.

"Um, Yumi what're you doing?" Turner asked timidly.

"You'll see," was all she said. She placed one last screw in and screwed it in.

"Aaaaand there!" she smiled happily!

"Err, Yumi what _is_ that?" Jessie inquired. Yumi just set it down.

"Hold your nose," she whispered. The gang did so just as a rotten smell reached the crowd.

"EEEEEEEEEEWWWWWWWWWW!" They all started running to the bathroom, their gates, their cars, anywhere just to get away from the horrible stench that filled their nostrils. Yumi bent down again, her nose still plugged, and pressed a red button on top of the car. Carefully, she unplugged her nose and sniffed. Smiling, she looked up and nodded at them.

Once they could talk normally again (because of plugging their noses… hey, did you know that you can't hum when your nose is plugged? I tried doing that because someone told me that, and I couldn't hum! It was so weird! And, and… oh, we should probably get back to the story, huh?) Ulrich walked up to Yumi.

"What _was_ that?" he asked.

"My wonderful car of smells- rotten, sweet, and the like," she said, "I can get you one if you'd like."

"Maybe…" Ulrich smiled mischievously. She laughed. "Or I could just kiss you in their presence and make them mob _you_ as well."

She narrowed her eyes, "You wouldn't dare."

"Wanna bet?"

"Yeah. Prove it!"

"Okay, I will," he put his arms around her, dipped her, and kissed her on the mouth.

She clasped her hands at the base of his neck for support and pulled herself up and deeper into the kiss (that sounds so weird, she got deeper by going higher… heehee…). When he pulled her up again she was grinning.

"Phooey, I guess you can prove it."

"You bet. Where's my money?" he teased.

She kissed him again quickly. Before he could respond and kiss her back, she pulled away. He growled in frustration but she just smirked, "There's your pay. Now let's go get lunch before Odd's stomach causes an earthquake with all that rumbling."

The gang laughed and walked by cafés and restaurants that lined the path. Ulrich's hand was around Yumi's waist. Jeremy and Aelita were holing hands again, as were Turner and Jessie. Thomas had his arm draped over Rachel's shoulders and she was blushing hysterically. Finding a suitable place, they went up to the counter and ordered. When they were done, they went to a table and waited for their number to be called.

"So," Rachel started, but she couldn't find anything to say. The gang was in an awkward situation. A uneasy silence settled over all of them except Ulrich and Yumi, who were confused.

Jeremy, who couldn't stand it any longer, broke the peace, "When's the wedding going to be?" he blurted.

Yumi whispered something to Ulrich who in turn murmured back. They were talking for about 30 seconds when Yumi turned back to Jeremy, "June first."

The entire table goggled at them.

"But that's _two days_ after we get out of school. And you'll only have a month to plan it if you're sure about the date!" Aelita pointed out.

"Yeah. And a _lot_ of planning is needed for a wedding," Tuner nodded.

"How will you cope? You live on different continents for heavens sake!" Jessie said.

"Yeah. Where's it going to be? In the US or France?" Jeremy questioned.

"There's going to be a big guest list too. Not to mention reservations for a priest and a church," Rachel said, still gaping.

"Of course you have to pick the band, the cake, heck with it, even the plates and silverware! How are you going to do all that in a month?" Thomas leaned back and crossed his arms.

"And Yumi hasn't even gotten to tell her parents yet!" Odd groaned. The gang turned to stare at him. "What?"

Turner just shook his head, "Never mind that. Looks like you're going to be under a lot of stress. Why not late June? Or even July?" The gang broke out in little squabbles.

Ulrich balled his hand into a fist and banged it on the table, "GUYS!" The group got quiet and people at neighboring tables glanced suspiciously over at them.

"Guys, we'll get through this. And the only reason is because we have each other," he looked lovingly at Yumi, "And we have you guys."

Rachel smiled and stuck her hand out, "For better…"

"Or worse…" Thomas grinned and put his hand on top of hers.

"To have…" Jessie did the same.

"And to hold…" Tuner did too.

"In sickness…" Aelita did as well.

"And in health," Jeremy added his hand to the pileup.

"Now…" Odd did so too.

"And forevermore," Yumi grinned, also putting her hand in.

"Until death…" Ulrich followed them.

Then, simultaneously, they all whispered the last three words, "Do us part."

**And now I part with these words… READ AND REVIEW! And also look at this super sad video that I saw on the Internet. You can access it from my profile. It's a the bottom. It's about this fox who dreams of being able to fly. In the end, she dies and gets her wish… it's sad. But review and I'll give you another chappie sooner! I couldn't review fast the last time because I had school… I had six flippin' tests, a project, and a lot of graded worksheets. That stunk. So I couldn't find time to update. Now it's Spring Break… so I can update! YAY! Umm… okay, I got nothing. REVIEW!**

**-Mi ChIbO-**

**beep…**


	18. And Now We Depart

**Okay… this is so weird… I feel like a random idiot right now for some reason. (Chika: You _are_ a random idiot…) (ME: AM NOT!) Anywho, I got so bored cuz I can't access the Internet right now, so I'm going to write another chappie in advance (lo and behold, chapter 18.) So… here you go…**

The gang was sitting in the waiting area. Ulrich was sitting by Yumi and Turner and Jessie sat beside them. Odd, Jeremy, and Aelita- in that order- were sitting opposite them and Rachel and Thomas were leaning against the wall, incase their flight was called for boarding.

"Will all passengers for flight C82 please board the plane now, I repeat. Will all passengers for flight C82 please board the plane at this time. Thank you."

Thomas looked up as the desk attendant's voice came from the intercom. His shoulders dropped and he glanced over at the others with a little shrug, "That's us." Yumi got up and hugged Rachel, as did Jessie and Aelita. Ulrich grinned and joined in along with Turner, Jeremy, Odd, and Thomas.

"Group hug!" Odd laughed. The others joined in and reluctantly let go of each other.

Rachel looked at them, tears stinging her eyes, "We'll never forget you."

"How could you? We're going to be step-cousins," Yumi offered a watery laugh.

Rachel just shook her head with a smile. She pushed something into the raven's hand, "Never forget." Yumi looked down at a small little Polaroid® picture that was grasped in her palm. It was of all of them, laughing and grinning stupidly at the camera.

Yumi smirked, "My parents will never believe what stories I'm going to tell them."

Rachel in turn, gave the rest of them copies of the picture. Then she and Thomas said their last goodbyes.

"Wait!" Tuner stopped them, "There's one more thing I'd like to do before you two go," he said as he draped an arm around each of their shoulders.

"Make it quick," Thomas sighed sadly.

"Oh, I will," Turner smiled slyly. He then pulled back, pushing Rachel and Thomas together in a kiss. A blush overcame both of them as Turner snapped a picture with a Kodak® camera he kept in his pocket.

"Ah, a picture's worth a thousand words." They all snickered, remembering the bowling alley incident. Rachel and Thomas broke apart, still red, and said goodbye one more time before running to their gate and climbing on the plane. The others waved goodbye until they were out of sight.

"Will all passengers for flight C78 please board the plane now, I repeat. Will all passengers for flight C78 please board the plane at this time. Thank you."

Yumi sighed and looked over at Ulrich, "There's our flight." He took his arm from around her shoulders and placed it around her waist, pulling her towards him. He kissed her as the others said their goodbyes to each other.

When they both pulled away, he whispered in her ear, "Remember… now and forevermore."

Yumi smiled up at him, tears running freely down her cheeks, "And you're the one I'll be with, now and forevermore." More tears escaped her eyes.

"Shh, don't cry… it's okay," he drew her into a hug and rubbed her back soothingly. She sniffed and nodded. He took her wrist and held it up. She looked at him, confused. He just kissed her hand and murmured, "I'll miss you."

Her face spread into a grin as she remembered the bracelet he had given her when _he_ had left.

"I'll miss you too," she replied wistfully. Then, she pulled away and said goodbye to everyone else. Once she was done she walked up to Ulrich once more.

"Well, goodbye…" she said. She kissed him one last time and regretfully tore away from him and was dragged by Aelita towards the plane. She looked back on last time and blew him a kiss. He waved as the desk attendant shut the door and sealed it. Ulrich stood there blankly for a second, letting his hand fall to his side. Turner shook him by the shoulder.

"One month, Ul. Just one month."

Jessie patted him on the back and nudged him forward towards a window. Ulrich, Turner, and Jessie looked out of the tinted glass at the two airplanes lining up for takeoff. First, Rachel and Thomas' plane took off, followed by Odd, Jeremy, Aelita, and Yumi's. Ulrich stared after until it disappeared in the clouds.

"It'll be all right. Come on, let's get you home," Turner grabbed his elbow firmly and half-dragged him out of the airport.

-With Rachel & Thomas-

Rachel sat next to Thomas on the plane. There was a peaceful silence that settled over them. To most people, this would be a nice change. But for them, it was kind of uncomfortable.

"Thomas, about that… you know… at the airport…" Rachel started blushing.

"Err, yeah?" he asked, his face turning red as well.

"I was just wondering… If Turner hadn't made us do that, would you really have meant it?" she whispered.

"Nah," he smiled.

Her face fell.

"I would have really really _really_ meant it."

She looked up at it, shocked. He just grinned at her and placed his arm around her. He then lowered his lips down onto hers and kissed her again. Her eyes closed and she wrapped her arms around him and he pulled her as close as the seats would allow.

When they broke apart, he placed the back of his hand on her cheek, "I love you."

Her heart was beating so fast that she thought it would burst as she placed her hand on his and entwined their fingers, "Ditto."

-With Yumi, Jeremy, Aelita, and Odd-

The gang was sitting in the same positions they had at their last flight (Yumi by Odd and Jer by Aelita).

Yumi sighed and sank down in her seat as she watched the airport get smaller and smaller. Odd smirked at his friend.

"Yumi don't worry, you'll see him in a month," the blonde consoled her.

"But what if he finds someone else while I'm gone?" she muttered.

Odd sighed at her negative-ness, "Yumi, if I know Ulrich, he would never find someone else. You don't know how many nights I've had to stay awake listening to his constant babble about how you probably liked William or Theo better. He was overcome with jealousy when you kissed William Valentine's Day, remember? He read his poem to Sissy for heaven's sake! Then he told you what?" Odd crossed his arms.

"That the poem was for me," a smile twisted its way onto her face.

"That's right. And remember when Will tried to kiss you? He saw. And that night when he came back into our room, he wouldn't speak to any of us about what happened. Now, if jealousy is called the green-eyed monster, that's Ulrich and his green eyes (At least, I think they're green… maybe they're brown… oh well). But seriously, he wouldn't be jealous unless he loved you, now would he?"

Yumi beamed up at him, "You're right. Thanks Odd."

"Don't mention it. I'm always there for a friend in need of comfort."

"Yeah, I know."

-Later That Night With Yumi-

Yumi stood in front of the door to her parent's house. Taking a deep breath, she opened the door and entered the house.

"Mom?" she called out, "Dad? I'm home!" She turned on the light as her mother poked her head out from around the corner. The woman smiled and fully emerged, wiping her hands on her apron.

"Hello sweetie. Did you have a good time in the United States?" she asked.

"Yeah. Uh, mom… can I talk to you and dad in the living room?" Yumi requested.

"All right," her mother said, confused. She led the way and Yumi followed her. "Dear, Yumi wants to talk to us." She placed a hand on her husband's shoulder and perched on the arm of his chair. The man grunted and looked up. He set the newspaper he'd been reading aside.

Yumi sat in an armchair opposite of them, "Mom, Dad. You know how Ulrich left about, what three years ago?"

"Ah, that fine young man? Pity he had to leave. He was always like my second son," Mrs. Ishiyama sighed sadly, "Yes we know he did leave Yumi, what about it?"

"Well, when I was in Ohio with the school, I met him again. He's doing great as a soccer player and actor/model," Yumi started.

"That's wonderful!" her mother smiled.

Yumi took a deep breath, "Um, dad, mom… I'm-"

"WHAT?" her father roared, "You don't mean to tell us you're _pregnant_."

Yumi blushed furiously, "NO, no, no, no! I didn't do anything like _that_, dad. No… I'm engaged. To Ulrich Stern."

**Okay, another pre-written chappie… Dundundundun…DUNBAR'S STUPID! (William) But yeah, READ AND REVIEW! I'm so bored… yeah yeah YEAH! Oh, you're still here? Sorry! - Heehee… bunny! HOP HOP HOP! Okay, I'm done. Psh, no I'm not… HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Okay… but I'm still not done. Heh… I probably sound crazy. Just like that one time…**

**ME: Okay, this might confuse you. When you knew that I knew that they knew that we knew that everybody else knew that they knew that I knew that we knew that you knew that nobody knew that we knew that everybody knew that I knew that we knew, in reality, nobody knew.**

**FRIEND: I get it! It means That you know that you don't know!**

**ME: But how do you know what you don't know?**

**FRIEND: Because you never knew!**

**ME: Okay, but how would you know what you didn't know in the first place?**

**FRIEND: I DON'T KNOW!**

**ME: you know, if some weird person walking by was listening to us, they'd be very confused.**

**FRIEND: Yeah, probably.**

**ME: Heh… we could videotape this conversation again and send it in to America's Funniest Videos!**

**FRIEND: (has laughing fit)**

**me and a crazy friend during PE. We had to walk around the football field and got bored. But it was funny! And we still haven't tried to make a tape of it yet…**

**Oh well! Please review!**

**-Mi ChIbO-**

**beep…**


	19. Let's Get Chattin'

**Read the bottom for my excuse as to why this chappie, boring and uninteresting as it is, was to late being posted. I don't own Code Lyoko, it should be common knowledge now. But just in case you didn't know… Anywho, read, review, get me to update faster, all that jazz.**

Yumi bit her lip as she braced herself for what she knew was to come. Her father, of course, would probably be furious to say the least. But what she least expected him to say, he said.

"Well it's about time."

"Huh?" Yumi stared at him, perplexed.

He father gave a hearty laugh, "Do you think your old man's blind? I knew about you two ever since I met Ulrich. He's a fine young man. Well, not so young anymore I gather. But anyways, when is the wedding?"

Yumi shook herself, she was still in shock about what she was hearing from her father. "Uh, well… we wanted to put it a week after I get out of school. That'll give me time to fly over there. I know we only have a month, but we both think that we can make it through. W-what do you think, mom? dad?"

"Well, usually you should wait at least six months before the wedding," her mother started. Yumi's heart plummeted. "But I think that we'll manage. Now," her mother's voice took on an excited tone, "how did he propose?" The aging woman's eyes twinkled enthusiastically.

"That's it I'm gone!" her father joked, getting up and walking to the door. When he reached it he suddenly stopped and turned his head back to his wife and daughter. "Oh and Yumi?"

"Yeah dad?"

Her father smiled warmly, "I give you my blessing."

"Oh thank you dad!" Yumi positively beamed before her mother engaged her in conversation about what happened at the bowling alley.

-With Ulrich-

Ulrich sat by his desk, staring at the phone on it. He blinked as his eyes started to droop unexpectedly. Shaking himself, he took interest in the brilliant pink and purple sky. Suddenly, the phone rang and Ulrich jumped, automatically reaching for it and picking it up.

"Hello?" he asked breathlessly.

"Ulrich hi, it's Pam. Listen, you know how Yumi acted out Juliet for that commercial?"

"Uh, yeah," Ulrich replied, disappointed that it hadn't been Yumi calling, "What about it?"

"Well you see dear, you and Yumi both have been asked to act in a new movie! Isn't that wonderful?" Pam sighed.

Ulrich did a double take. Another movie? Not again! But this time it would be with Yumi… great. The pros and cons are at it again. "Uhh.. Pam? Yumi left for France already today. I was just waiting for her to call back."

"Oh! Oh… well then… will she be back, Ulrich?" Pam asked timidly.

"In a month for our wedding."

"Hmm. She's calling you say?"

"Yeah."

"Well, will you talk to her about it?"

"Sure. Will do ma'am."

"Thank you dear. Call me back with your answer!"

"I will. Talk to ya later."

"Goodbye!"

Ulrich hung up the phone and started as it rang as soon as he set it down. Grabbing it again, he held it to his ear, "Hello?"

"Ulrich it's Yumi."

"Yumi!" Ulrich grinned from ear to ear, "Hey! How's it going there?"

"Pretty good. Hey, do you have a web cam?"

"You thought I didn't?"

"Nope. Turn it on and connect to the chat-room four-six-five-two-nine-seven-four-five (this is just a made up number, don't try it)."

"Wait, hold on…" Ulrich opened his laptop and hooked a little camera to the top. Pressing a few buttons, a window came up onscreen and Ulrich posed, ready to type, "Can you repeat the number?"

"Four-six-five-two-nine-seven-four-five."

"Okay… got it. Oh great," he muttered as a box appeared stating:

**Code: †††††**

"Yumi I can't get in! It needs some sort of-"

"The password's Lyoko."

"Oh," Ulrich smirked. '_Duh! Code: Lyoko._' "All right…. L-y-o-k-o. WHOA!"

The screen burst into a vibrant blue, along the bottom, there were two pictures of each Ulrich, Yumi, Odd, Jeremy, and Aelita. One was of them on earth, the other from Lyoko. Under the pictures were:

_Name: Ulrich_

_Location: Ohio_

_Name: Yumi_

_Location: France_

_Name: Jeremy_

_Location: France_

_Name: Aelita_

_Location: France_

_Name: Odd_

_Location: France_

Along the sides were links to e-mails, pictures, IMs, phone numbers, and so much more. There was even a little section labeled 'Odd's New Music.' The background was blue and black and occasionally a picture of the group- together or separate- would flash up. But in the center was a giant black box. When it had finished loading, he gasped. There was the gang, waving at him. He immediately turned on his camera.

There was a beep and the computer spoke: "_You Are Now Automatically Part Of The Lyoko Gang Private Chat Room. Press The Enter Key To Exit._"

"Do you like Jeremy's effects?" Yumi laughed. The Yumi on the screen was mouthing the exact same words as she was speaking. Her voice not only came from the phone, but from the computer as well.

"Connect your camera in the little box at the bottom of the screen," Jeremy instructed from the computer. Ulrich did and soon, another box came up, displaying him. He waved and they grinned. Yumi turned off her phone and so did he.

"You press the escape key while you're talking," she smiled.

Ulrich held down the 'Esc' key and spoke to his computer, "Uh… hi?"

"HI!" they all laughed. It soon became easy to understand the controls and he had fun talking to his friends. He found out that they were all in Yumi's room and were going to leave in about half an hour. He talked to them as long as he could until they had to leave, which they did eventually- fifteen minutes after curfew. Yumi kept talking to him and they discussed the wedding. Then Ulrich remembered—

"Oh yeah, Yumi?"

"Yes Ulrich?"

"Um… remember the commercial we did?"

"But of course."

"Well uh, we've been asked to act in a movie."

"What?" Yumi's face looked astonished, "But- but- but-"

"But?" Ulrich prodded.

'Oh I don't know. I guess we could do it, but are you sure?"

"She just called me and asked me before you called. Do you want to?'

Yumi looked skeptical, "Well, I'd rather hear more about it before I decide. But I'm only doing it if you do it too!"

Ulrich smiled slyly, "Deal."

**Yeah, yeah… stupid, uninteresting chappie. I'm sorry. I had CRCTs (Criterion Reference Competency Tests). They're those huge ones you have to take at the end of the year if you don't go year round. I think I did bad on the Social Studies… (·)(·) but yeah… oh well… what's done is done. And I felt like I should at least give you SOMETHING. And also, I'm working on a book that, if I finish it by 05/01/07, I'm going to try and get published. If you want to hear about it, tell me in your review. But you have to promise not to tell ANYONE about it. Well… if I get it published they'll know… but still. So… w/e. READ AND REVIEW! Oh, and read the stories by Missy Twinkle. She's an awesome writer and a good friend. And I think if we pester her enough, she just might continue her stories… hehehe…**

**-Mi ChIbO-**

**beep…**


	20. A Trip, A Fall, An Unwanted Savior

**Kaykay… I finally decided to get off my lazy butt and give my readers a chappie to the favorite of all my stories… INTO THE GOAL! Okay now… this is a couple weeks later… Ulrich and Yumi are looking at wedding stuff… a LOT of ppl said that they liked the chat room so… yeah… Anywho, I don't own Code Lyoko… duh… I have a play, so I'll try and get this written before 5:00 (that's when I have to be there and get in costume for practice before it)… it's 3:43…. I dunno if I can do it, but I'll try! Anywho, ON WITH THE STORY!**

Ulrich stared at the screen in front of him. Yumi was holding up four different figurines for him to see. One was of a chibified man and woman in a tux and wedding dress. They were smiling and hugging. The second was a man in a tux and a woman in a (duh) wedding dress both of whom were leaning forward at a 135 degree angle and kissing, their butts sticking out and their arms straight by their sides with their hands slanted outward in the 'little miss lady' pose. The next one was a man and a woman in their wedding attire in escort position (you know, the man on the left –if you were the girl- the girl on the right –if you were the guy- and the girl's arm holding the man's elbow while his arm is bent? Well I just spent a lot of time explaining, figure it out! Not to be rude or anything… heehee…). The fourth was just a man and a woman separate— the man in a tux and the woman in a dress. The brunette scratched his head.

"What do you think Yumes?" he asked his fiancé.

She shrugged from the computer screen, 'I don't know. I was hoping you would have an idea of which one to pick."

'Well we can definitely rule out that one," Ulrich laughed, pointing to the third one.

"Which?"

"Oh, sorry. I almost forgot that we're talking by computer," he smiled sheepishly. She pointed to the one that he had meant.

"You mean this one?" she asked.

"Wow you must be psychic."

"No, just able to spot hideous figures. Hiroki made me ask you about that one." She picked it up and plopped it on her bed.

"Hiroki? That's funny, I thought he hated it when he saw people kissing, even your parents."

"He found my old dolls up in the attic and I'd rather not go into detail…" she blushed. He shook his head, a smirk playing its way onto his face.

"When you've lived with one of the biggest pervs all your life you get used to it," he rolled his eyes.

"Who?"

"Turner."

"But of course."

"Now really Yumi, I thought you would have known since he embarrassed you so badly a few days ago."

"We're not going into that, Ul."

"Whatever you say…" The couple sat quietly for a minute, trying to decide which figure to put on top of the cake— which they still hadn't picked. "How about the formal-looking one?" Yumi picked up the ones in escort position.

"This?"

"Yeah."

"Fine by me."

Again, the two sat in silence, which Yumi broke unexpectedly. "Ulrich, we still need to decide _where_ the wedding is going to _be_."

"Let me deal with that…"

.:With Jeremy, Odd, and Aelita:.

Aelita hummed to herself as she folded a few clothes up and placed them in her drawer. Jeremy watched with a smile on his face. Odd was in the swivel chair by the computer, spinning around slowly. Aelita finished putting the clothes up and placed the laundry basket in her closet.

"Odd, you didn't say Sam was going to be here," Aelita said, breaking the silence as she sat down by Jeremy, who wrapped an arm around her. Odd bolted.

"_What_?" he demanded fiercely.

Aelita looked at him strangely, "I saw her in the park during my walk today. She was sitting on a bench. Mind you, that was about an hour ago."

"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME EARLIER?" Odd yelled. Jeremy immediately got up and grabbed Odd's arm.

"There's no need to take this out on Aelita, Odd. You're the one who hasn't seen or contacted her in-"

"FIVE YEARS!" With that, Odd jerked out of Jeremy's grasp and shot out of the room, down the stairs, and out of the dorm building. There was a place he needed to be. A place called _the park_.

.:Just With Odd:.

Crashing through the trees, Odd didn't even take notice as the branches tore at his body and clothes. The only thing on his mind was finding her. And that her had a name. Her name was _Sam._

Suddenly, Odd saw a gap in the trees. He put on a burst of speed and dashed through it. He looked around wildly as he stopped, hands on his knees, to catch his breath. Then he saw her. She was sitting on a bench that faced away from him at a pond. Her hands were in the pockets of the dark red hoodie that hung loosely around her body. Her cargo pants were black and baggy and her black converse shoes were old and worn.

"Sam," he whispered into the wind. She looked up and turned to face the speaker. Her jet black hair was still short, but now with a few more streaks of red in it. Her soft brown eyes widened and she jumped from the bench. Slowly and silently, a single tear made its way down her cheek.

"Odd…" She started backing up, away from him.

"Sam, no! The pond!" Odd shouted. But it was too late. Sam lost her footing and fell backwards into the dark water.

"SAM!" Odd ran to the pond. Actually, it was more like a lake. In the middle of the 20x20 "pond" it was impossible for even a grown man to touch the bottom. Odd threw off his over-shirt, revealing his purple muscle shirt (A/N: I for got to mention that he now wears A dark purple over-shirt, purple muscle shirt, baggy jeans, and a pair of purple tennis shoes.) and kicked off his shoes. Then, he dove in straight after her. He knew she couldn't swim and that she also had a fear of water, so if he didn't help, she would probably drown. Suddenly, he spotted her no less than eight feet away from him, drifting slowly to the bottom. "SAM!" a large bubble issued out of his mouth as swam rapidly to her side. Wrapping an arm around her waist, he kicked up and broke the surface, gasping for breath. He propelled both of them over to the side of the pond and dragged himself, carrying Sam, out. She wasn't breathing. He panicked and did the first thing that came to mind— CPR. After a few times, she started coughing and spit up water all over the grass. Breathing deeply, she turned to face Odd. After realizing who it was she sat up fast.

"Odd!" her eyes blazed with uncontrolled fury, "You-" Odd silenced her with a finger on her lips. She bit it— hard. He had to bite down on his tongue to keep his mouth from getting as dirty as his mind. He quickly drew his hand back. She jumped up and started to sprint away.

'NO!" he thundered. He shot up and grabbed her arm. Spinning her around, he pinned her against his chest. She glared up at him, a cold anger in her eyes, before kneeing him between the legs. His eyes watered with pain but he kept a firm hold on her arm as she twisted away in vain. He fell to his knees, still clutching her wrist, "Why Sam? Why are you so unhappy? Why wont you let me even speak to you?" His voice was barely above a whisper.

"Why do you think?" she cried out. Fresh tears started pouring down her face, "Remember Odd? Do you remember that night of your school's 'Students And Friends' dance? DO YOU!" It was then that he did.

_-FLASHBACK-_

_Odd and Sam faced each other angrily in the yard of Sam's school. Sam's face was streaked with tears and Odd was red with anger._

"_Shut up, Odd, just SHUT UP!" Sam screamed._

"_Why won't you just let me explain?" Odd roared._

"_There's no need to! I know what I saw, Della-Robbia and I don't intend to be used that way again! I'm not a toy!"_

"_I never said you were!"_

"_But that's how you felt, Odd! And cheating on me is just another way to prove that!"_

"_Sam, please, let me at least tell you what _really _happened!"_

"_No! We're through, Odd! I don't ever want to see your face again as long as I live!"_

"_You don't mean that," he said quietly._

"_You can bet I do," she said without any trace of emotion in her voice, "You can bet I do."_

_With that, she pushed her way through the crowd, Odd hot on heels until her heard her last words, "I HATE YOU!" And his last glimpse of her was with another guy— hugging each other romantically 30 minutes later._

_-ENDFLASHBACK-_

"But Sam…"

"No Odd. I meant what I said."

"I respect that, Sam. But I did save your life."

"What do you want? A thank you card?'

"No…" he pulled her onto the ground with him, "I want a kiss." And then his lips crashed onto hers.

**And I choose to stop here. Sorry, it took a week more to get me off my butt and finish this chappie. But it was the final week of school last week… so I was pressured with final exams… the death of me. And I also have a yearbook application due the 24th (that's also when I get report cards ( ). I think I failed my science exam… (by my standards, failing is a 79 or below…). -.-' oh well, I guess I'll have to wait and find out. I dunno about my math either… anywho, I hoped you like this chappie! I can update sooner now that it's summer for me! Keep the reviews coming and maybe I can update more! Yeah, I know that was a bad cliffie. LIVE WITH IT! Sorry… I just had to um… 'type' that. Anywho, READ AND REVIEW! What do you think Sam will do? Only I know! Muahahahaha! I have power! (Chika: Ignore her. She's an idiot.) (Me: AND PROUD OF IT!) (Chika: -.-')**

**-Mi ChIbO-**

**beep…**


	21. Make Up, Break Up

**I don't own CL and blah blah blah… REVIEW WHEN YOU'RE DONE!  heehee… here you go!**

"Hey! Shar!" Jeremy called to a girl by the cafeteria. She had shoulder length blonde hair that looked washed out. Her brownish-blue eyes shone darkly in the light. She wore a pink shirt and brown cargo kapris.

"Mmmm? Oh, hi Jer." She turned fully around to face him.

"Shara, have you seen your roommates anywhere while you've been traveling?"

She blinked, "No. I thought you still were in contact with them."

He shook his head, "Nah. My computer deleted their slots in the address book. Along with everyone else's.

"Ah."

They were both silent for a moment.

"Well?" Jeremy finally burst out.

Shara rolled her eyes, "Last I heard, they were fine, Jer. Mind you that was this morning."

"WHAT? THEIR _HERE_?"

"No! Geeze, I thought you were smarter than that. I got an email from Lyeah. By the way, Lyeah's in the US still-"

"Where?"

"Hold your horses I'm coming to that!" Shara put her hands up as a sign for him to calm down. He couldn't though, so he anxiously shifted his weight from foot to foot.

"Anyways, she's now up in Cali with Kimiko in their condo and are the best of friends. They're both entering a big art show and they're doing fine as far as I know,"

Jeremy eyed her with suspicion, "_And…"_

"How could you tell there was a comma at the end!" she laughed.

"Seriously, Shar."

"Fine. You want to know, I'll tell you."

He leaned forward only to grab hold of the wall to keep from falling.

"Lyeah finished the book. She's going to send it in to an editor in the fall after her final revising with Kimi."

"YESSSSSSSSSS!" Jeremy punched his fist in the air. He hugged Shara and twirled in circles with his hands on her shoulders.

He laughed and stopped dizzily, his eyes twinkling, "I knew it."

Shara smiled.

"Jeremy?"

He turned to find Aelita half-hiding behind the corner of the wall.

"Hi Aelita!" he grinned, very out of breath, "What is it?"

"I was wondering if you wanted to walk to Yumi's with me. She's expecting us at two and it's already one forty-five."

"Okay. Go far, Shar!" he threw over his shoulder at Shara as they walked away.

She laughed and waved, "Bye Jeremy!"

Aelita looped her arm through Jeremy's. Sighing, she continued walking toward the school gate. Jeremy looked worriedly at her and touched her hand. She looked up at him.

"What is it Aei?"

She shook her head. He shrugged and stared ahead. They continued to walk in silence with Aelita fidgeting until she suddenly burst out, "Jeremy what were you doing with that blonde haired girl just now?"

He looked at her in confusion, "Wha?" They both stopped and Aelita slid her arm out of his. She twisted a lock of hair between two fingers.

"The one who was talking to you by the cafeteria."

"Oh, the one in pink and brown? That was Shara. She's no one you should worry about Aei. She's just a friend."

Aelita's eyes filled with tears, "Don't make up excuses Jeremy, I saw you guys hugging."

"Excuses? Aelita, _WHAT_ are you talking about!" Jeremy's voice gradually started rising, as was Aelita's.

"YOU KNOW PERFECTLY WELL BELPOIS!"

"NO I DON'T AELITA!"

"Is there something… _wrong _here?" Aelita and Jeremy both jerked around 90 degrees. Standing in front of them was Shara- again.

"Shara…" Jeremy started.

Aelita felt a couple tears trail down her face. She ran, not even listening to Jeremy's pleading call.

.:With Odd And Sam:.

Odd slipped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer, their lips still locked. She braced her hands on his chest, her eyes wide. As he pulled back, she felt tears fill her eyes. She hesitated, then pushed her hands up and wound her arms around his neck. He smiled into her hair and murmured, "I'm sorry."

She didn't trust her voice so she just nodded. He felt her lay her head on his shoulder. Then, something warm soaked through his shirt (but it was already wet… -.-'). He lifted her chin with the crook of his finger to see that she was crying.

Abashedly, she tried to speak, "I-I…"

He put a finger to her lips, then took it away and kissed her again. This time, she kissed back. When they both backed out from the lack of oxygen, he pushed the hair out of her face and smiled.

"I love you too Sam."

.:With Aelita:.

She ran, her pink hair flying. Her filmy pink skirt swirled around her knees, also met by the wind. Tears leaked out of her eyes and she slowed down and caught hold of the edge of a bench, breathing hard and still crying. She heard her name and looked back to see Shara, Jeremy not far behind her. Again, she dashed away, leaving them in her wake. The water still chorused down her cheeks, as though comforting her. She ran to Yumi's house, leaving her pain unmasked and rang the bell. Mrs. Ishiyama answered, her husband behind her with the evening newspaper in his hand.

"Aelita?" the woman asked, shocked.

Aelita choked on her words, but managed to get a few out, "Yumi… please…"

Mrs. Ishiyama nodded, "Yes, come in, dear. Yumi!"

"Yeah?" Yumi's voice filtered down from upstairs.

"Come down please!" her mother called.

There was the sound of a door opening and the padding of her feet fell upon their ears. Mrs. Ishiyama held Aelita by the shoulders, comforting her. Yumi appeared at the foot of the stairs.

"What is i- Oh my gosh, Aelita!" her mouth fell open. She hurried to her friend's side.

"I…" Aelita began.

"Why don't you girls go to Yumi's room? I'll be up in a minute with some tea."

Yumi nodded and led Aelita to her room. Once there, she sat Aelita down on the bed and went back to her chair by the computer.

"Ulrich? Lita's here."

Aelita looked up to see Ulrich's face smiling at her from the computer. His grin instantly subsided when he saw her tearstained face with tears still pouring out.

"Aei…" he said warily. That was al he had to say. She broke. A thousand tears came pouring out of her eyes.

"Aelita!" Yumi rolled over to the bed on her chair, taking the computer with her (it was a laptop). She put a hand on Aelita's shoulder and handed her a tissue, "Here. Now calm down and tell us _exactly_ what happened." And she did tell- she told _everything_. It all came pouring out of her mouth so fast she couldn't stop it. Once she finished, she felt as though a great weight had been lifted from her chest… but guilt replaced it almost immediately. As she told of the past events, she realized he probably _was_ telling the truth. Why shouldn't he hug a friend? Why shouldn't he twirl around happily if something good had happened to them or a friend of theirs? She knew now that she had been unfair. She should have given him a chance to explain. Wait… she still could! He and Shara were following her, right? And this was the only place they knew of in the direction she'd been running. So they would have seen her go in the house…

DING-DONG!

Yep, they'd seen her.

"YUMI! ODD'S HERE!"

Or maybe they hadn't…

**Sorry. This was a really bad chappie. I didn't like it… oh well. Thanks for reading and don't forget to review! Especially you, Amaherst… because this chappie's all because of you! You're the one who got me off my lazy butt to write this so… yeah. Anyways, I have a few questions:**

**1-After Ulrich and Yumi get married, should they stay in the US or come back to France? (After they shoot the movie of course)**

**2-Should Jeremy, Aelita, Odd, and Sam move to the US too if Ulrich and Yumi stay there?**

**3-Should Shara and her friends she mentioned (Kimiko and Lyeah) become major OCs in the story?**

**4-Where do you think the wedding will be?**

**5-Who are Shara, Lyeah, and Kimiko?**

**Please answer at least one of the questions- especially the 3rd- in your review! Thanks! I'm goning to try and set a goal for you guys: if you can get up to 300 reviews, once I see that you've gotten to that mark, I will update… kay? Or at least… I'll try… I have a very busy schedule this summer -.-'**

**-Mi ChIbO-**

**beep…**


	22. Guilty Heart

**Hey guys! I'm back! I'm really, really, really, really, really… all right, I'll just get right to the point: I went to Disneyland (or was it DisneyWORLD oh well, it was in Orlando, Florida.) with my relatives. I was going to have this chappie up before we went (Thursday, the 22nd), but lo and behold, my document manager decided to NOT WORK! And when we got there, I found out there was NO INTERNET CONNECTION! I just about died. I am so sorry for making you wait! I really am! So… I hope you guys can forgive me… If it makes you feel better, a squirrel climbed up my leg… not funny, NOT funny. That's all about that so… Okay, now I don't own Code: Lyoko (drat…).But I do own all my OCs! Which there are too many to miss. Now, the majority of the people wanted Ulrich and Yumi to live in the US and for the rest of the gang to come with them. I'm sorry, but it has to be fair! Um… for #3 I had a tie… -.-' so this is what I'll do… well… I don't know WHAT I'll do! Gosh, you guys make it difficult! i guess I'll just have them in one or two more chappies. Oh, do you think Thomas and Rachel should come back in one of the next chappies? And should Yumi, Jer, Aei, Odd, and (if you guys want) Sam go to the US in the next chappie? Tell me in your review! Kay… oh yeah! Shara, Kimiko and Lyeah are in one of my stories! But I'm going to delete it. It was called Three Long Lost Warriors or something. I'm going to delete it and this is why: I had this weird idea that I could change the parts about the characters and Lyoko, Kadic, and Xana, finish the story, and publish it! I'll take out everything that was even REMOTELY in Code Lyoko so I won't get sued. I don't even know what it's called yet… -.-' oh well, that's what I'm going to do. And don't try and talk me out of it! 'Cause I've made up my mind and I'm NOT going to change it! Now… I might have Odd, Aelita, Jer, and Sam, set up Ul and Yu's honeymoon… I had this weird idea at Disneyland (or world) and I though that they could go there! I mean… Yumi gets scared on some of the rides, Ulrich comforts her, yadda, yadda, ya, lots of fluff. Tell me what you think! Okay! I'm done… wow that was long. Anywho, here's the story!**

Ulrich sighed from the computer screen as Aelita fell silent after explaining her encounter with Jeremy and Shara.

"Aei, you COULD have trusted him, you know. I mean, Odd and I both know Shara, Lyeah, and Kimiko! They're friends! And Shara—"

"I realize I was wrong to run away and not believe Jeremy, Ulrich. Now I know and I feel gui- wait… did you say you know Shara and her friends?"

A voice from the doorway answered instead, "That's right."

There in the narrow frame, stood Odd and behind him, peeking cautiously into the room, was Sam. Yumi slapped a hand to her mouth.

"Sam?" the ebony-haired girl whispered, "But mom only said that Odd was here!"

"We wanted to surprise you," Odd grinned.

"That much you did," Ulrich laughed. Sam looked at the computer and jumped.

Taking a step from behind Odd, she stared, open-mouthed, at Ulrich.

He raised an eyebrow and smirked, "Hi Sam."

"H-hey," she said quietly. Odd walked over to the bed and sat down next to Aelita. Sam did the same, but on her other side.

"So, what's this about the 'teers?" Odd asked.

"Um, tears? What do they have to do with Shara, Lyeah, and Kimiko? Do they cry a lot or something?" Yumi looked back and forth between Ulrich on the computer and Odd.

Ulrich laughed, "Not T-E-A-R-S, T-E-E-R-S. Mainly it's short for the three musketeers. They're inseparable."

"Ah," Sam smiled, "That makes sense. But what happened to them?"

"Nothing as far as I know," Odd leaned against the wall, "Anything happen that you care to tell me about?"

"Not that I know of," Ulrich laughed.

"Other than the fact that Shara's here," Aelita whispered. She stood up and made her way to the door, "If you'll excuse me, I have someone to apologize to." With that, she walked out of the room, down the stairs, and out onto the front porch of the Ishiyama house. Yumi put the laptop on Sam's lap and then walked toward the window. She curled her finger around the curtain and pulled in back. There was a sharp intake of breath from Odd as he joined her and gasped.

"She's here. I can't believe it!" He ran to the laptop, "Ulrich! She's here! Shara's here!"

"Yeah, Odd. I know."

"And you didn't TELL me!

"Aelita just did. Weren't you listening?

"Er…"

"I take that as a 'no'," Sam giggled. Ulrich shook his head from the computer.

"So Sam, why haven't we seen or heard from you in five years?" Yumi walked back to the bed and gently took the laptop Sam handed her.

"Um…"

.: With Aelita :.

The pink-haired girl walked out onto the front porch and leaned against the railing. She closed her eyes and let the breeze play across her face. She sighed into the wind and her eyes slid open again. Looking down the street, she saw Jeremy and Shara racing towards her. She went down one step and stayed there and they caught up to the house. Jeremy skidded to a halt and grabbed the railing for support, Shara right next to him.

"Aelita," he began, "I didn't… I wasn't-" He was cut off as Aelita placed a finger on his lips and then slowly walked down the rest of the stairs.

"Jer, I know what happened. I should have let you explain, but I didn't. I'm sorry for running away. Would you like to tell me your sides of the story?"

Jeremy stood frozen in a state of shock until Shara curled her hand into a fist and whacked him on the back. Aelita bit back a giggle.

"Well I don't think I have anything to say. Other than…" he stood up and wrapped an arm around Aelita's shoulders and gestured at Shara, "Aelita, meet my cousin."

Aelita almost choked, "C-c-c-cousin?"

Shara bowed, "Pleased to meet you. Now that that's over with, I guess I'll be going. You know how they have that stupid rule about having to be at the airport 45 minutes before your flight takes off? Well… I want to get there an hour before, just in case."

"Shara, don't go yet! Odd- and, technically Ulrich too- are here! And how long has it been since they've seen you?"

Shara rolled her eyes. "Okay, five minutes. But then I've GOT to go." Aelita smiled.

"Right this way then," the bubblegum-haired girl opened the door and led them to Yumi's room.

**Yeah, yeah… short, stupid… but at least Jer and Aei made up! Kaykay, see you guys in the next chappie! Don't forget to review! Oh yeah, Shara, Kimiko, and Lyeah are people in my might-be-published story! Yay!**

**That's all! See ya!**

**-Mi ChIbO-**

**beep…**


	23. Too Good To Be True

**Hey! Whassup ppls? I'm back! I thought that I'd give you another update since you waited about two weeks for me to put up chapter 22, I'd put up chapter 23 quicker, cuz I'm really bad at keeping up to deadlines. I don't think I'll ever put a review deadline in again. Anywho, sorry again about the delay in getting up the 22 chappie. Here's the 23! Which… also was delayed in getting up… heh… Oh, and I don't own Code: Lyoko or anything else that isn't mine… Except my OCs! Oh, I'm going to take some out. Sissy, Will, and some other ppls will only appear again for the wedding and maybe some other special occasions, as will others… like Thomas and Rachel… if Rachel wants to… I'll have to ask her… -.-' Oh, and I hope you won't kill me…but I'm going to put in Lyeah and Kimiko for the first time in this chappie… but they won't be major, kay? Maybe just for this chappie and the next… they'll be at the wedding too, but that's about it… I might have to kill off some of the other characters—literally. I… well… I can't tell you yet. But all I'm going to say is that, well… one of Yumi's friends from the US is going to die. Maybe you can guess it. I'll tell you if you do, but you have to PROMISE not to tell ANYONE! Nobody at ALL! Kaykay? Kay. ON GOETH THE STORY… ETH… (Chika who hasn't appeared in a long time…: -.-?)**

"Well Sam?" Ulrich raised an eyebrow.

"It's… complicated," she reddened.

Yumi smirked, "Try us. You have NO idea what complicated means in our vocabulary."

Sam looked up from her clasped hands, "What do you mean by that?"

"We'll tell you after you tell us," Ulrich taunted.

She clammed up after that. Odd sat down beside her with a creak of the bedsprings and put a hand on her back.

"Go on Sam," he whispered soothingly. She sighed and he stood up again.

"Fine. But it's your fault."

He held his hands up in mock surrender, "Blame me later, okay? Just tell them."

"All right, here it goes… I—"

"OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOODDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD!" a blurred figure raced in and jumped onto Odd, hugging him and knocking him over.

"Holy— Shara?" his eyes widened. She giggled and nodded. Bouncing up, she looked around the room. Then she saw the computer, "Ulrich! Hi! Oh, and this must be Yumi… and is it Samantha?"

Sam nodded meekly, "Call me Sam. Um, Odd can I talk to you for a second? _Outside_."

"Sure!" Odd rubbed the back of his head, slowly got up, and waved to Aelita and Jeremy as they walked in and he and Sam went out into the hall.

"What is it?"

Sam stared at the ground. "Odd, isn't she the one that split us up?"

"Who, Shara? I don't thi- oh… yeah…" he took Sam by the shoulders and looked deeply into her eyes.

"Sam, Shara is Jer's cousin! I've know her a long time and we're great pals but _nothing_ more than that, okay? Trust me."

She stared right back into his searching eyes and nodded, "I do."

He kissed her, rested his forehead on hers, and smiled, "Good." They walked back into the room where everyone was talking excitedly. Jeremy's arm was around Aelita's shoulders, Shara was talking non-stop, Yumi was laughing, the laptop (Ulrich was still on) was on the desk again with the escape button trapped under some sort of pointer thingy so that nobody's finger would get tired holding it down, and everyone seemed to be having a great time. Odd and Sam joined in on the conversation— which was about housing, for some reason. Yumi went downstairs after a little bit to get snacks and came back with soda, popcorn, chips, and candy. They all pigged out (Ulrich too… he got his own stuff) until Shara looked at the clock on the computer, bade them all goodbye, explaining that she had just been visiting her aunt (not Jer's mom… another person… unimportant though…) who worked at the school, and left to catch her plane back. They still chatted and all of a sudden Sam choked on her drink. After forcing it down, she looked up at Yumi again.

"You- and Ulrich- together you— oh my gosh!"

"Sam stop stuttering and spit it out!" Yumi grinned.

"When… when did you two get engaged? How long have you been together? I thought Odd was joking when he made a crack about how he couldn't wait to wear a tux at your wedding and then become an uncle later on…" That did it. Yumi burst out laughing. Ulrich smirked.

"We got engaged a few weeks ago. We've been together for, what, a month or so? Yeah.. I guess that's it. And as for the tux…" Yumi clutched the back of the chair she was sitting on, still laughing. " Anyway, Don't worry Sam, we're not going to put him in a tux. We were thinking more of a Yeti costume." Aelita and Jeremy were rolling around on the floor, holing their sides. Sam doubled over with a giggling fit. The only one who didn't seem to find the Yeti suit joke funny was Odd.

"Yeah, yeah, _hilarious_ Ulrich."

"It was," Yumi gasped out, tears in her eyes from laughing so much.

"And the uncle part… well… _technically_ he'll never be. And no, it's not like that," the brunette added. Sam grinned.

Once they had all calmed down, still bursting out at various moments with uncontrollable laughter, they discussed the wedding.

.: One Week Later :.

Ulrich sunk down in the easy chair and let out a huge sigh. His manager walked up to him and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Rough day?"

"Nothing I haven't had before," he said, smiling weakly up at her.

She let out a laugh, "You'll be fine. As a husband and as an actor and professional soccer player. I know it. You handled your career and school nicely."

He stuck out his tongue at her, "That's not the same and you know it."

"Maybe so, but for now we need you to concentrate. Oh, and watch out for the people over there," she pointed at another commercial set up where two people were painting a background, "They've got wet paint and if we distract them, I don't think they'll be afraid to sling it anywhere but the wall."

He chuckled and stood up. Following Pam to a large mini-mountain. He stood at the top, trying not to fall off the point as the camera's rolled.

"Staying on top is diffic-" he started reading his line, but never finished. His foot slipped and he fell flat on his back. Rolling up, he put his head in his hands and pulled on his hair.

"CUT! Let's try that again!" the director yelled through his megaphone.

Ulrich got up and climbed to the top once more. Time and time again, they repeated the scene, and each time he fell at one point or another.

"Cut, cut, CUT! Ulrich, m'boy, what's wrong? How 'bout we take a little break and start again in five minutes?"

Ulrich stayed on the floor and rested his forehead in his palms.

"You need to think balance," came a voice from his left. He looked up to see a boy with a paint-smeared cap on his head squatting and wiping off a brush.

"Huh?" Ulrich lifted himself up off the ground.

"You _need_…" the boy got up and walked onto the mountain, "To _think_…" He put a foot on the point and lifted himself up perfectly, arms spread out widely, "_Balance._"

Ulrich raised his eyebrows as the boy switched feet and lowered his arms.

Beginning to nod, Ulrich smirked, "Okay…" The boy got off and swept an arm toward the peak.

"You're turn."

Ulrich got up on the top and promptly fell off once he put his foot on the point.

The boy shook his head and extended a hand toward him. Ulrich grasped it and got up.

"_Balance_," the boy said, "Think it over and over again in your mind."

Ulrich took in a deep breath and let it out, "All right."

Stepping up onto the peak, he climbed to the top and balanced perfectly on it, a concentrated look on his face and his eyes shut tightly.

"Wonderful! You can come down now!" the boy smiled, clapping.

Ulrich beamed and climbed down.

"Thanks! What's your name? I want to thank you properly," Ulrich turned to the boy.

Smiling, the boy removed his cap and a long stream of brown hair fell behind him. The "boy" was a girl! She bowed.

"Lyeah is at your service!" she smiled, straightening up as her hair fell down to her waist.

Ulrich gaped at her.

"_Lyeah_?" he gasped, "Oh no, no, no, no… it can't be you… not after all this time!"

"Lyeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeah," a short black-haired girl with blonde highlights bounded up to them, "Come on! Miranda said we gotta have this done by five!"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming, Kim," Lyeah sighed.

Ulrich stared wide-eyed at the other one, "Kimiko too? Okay, I have _got_ to be dreaming!"

The raven smiled, "Hi Ulrich! LTNS!"

"Um… what?"

Lyeah rolled her eyes, "**L**ong **T**ime, **N**o **S**ee, Ul."

"Ah. So… why are you and Kimiko here? In Ohio? At the commercial house?"

"We were hired to paint a set," Lyeah stated, "So Kimiko and I flew in from home to paint it."

"Yeah!" Kimiko laughed, "And Lyeah gave me cheese puffs for being quiet on the plane! Oh, and Shara went to visit her aunt in Boulogne-Billancourt (A/N: I looked it up! This is the actual place where the Renault factory is located! In case you didn't know, that's what the factory in CL was based off of… So that's where Yumi, Jeremy, Aelita, Odd, and Ulrich live in the show! Go meee-eee… go meee-eee… for all you people who didn't know, that's where they live… heehee… okay, back to the story…). We thought you were there too…"

"Yeah… I know. The guys told me she was there. But I'll have to tell them _you_ are _here_! This is way to cool to be real…"

"Well it is. Real, I mean," Lyeah looked over at the set she and Kimiko were working on and sighed, "Well. We'd better get back to work."

"Wait!" Ulrich said as they started back to their work area, "Uh… how about you come to dinner with me and some friends tonight?"

'Sure!" Lyeah took a piece of paper out of her pocket and jotted down something, "Here's our hotel address and apartment number."

Ulrich grinned and took it, "Great! See you at five!"

"Don't be late!" Kimiko giggled. Ulrich saluted them and they each turned back to what they had been doing.

**Drat… it's not much of a cliffhanger… oh well… anywho, I'd like to tell Amaherst or any other people who told me to update constantly (not that it's a bad thing…  heehee)… I UPDATED FINALLY! Heehee… sorry… I just had to say that… anyways, Lyeah and Kimiko were based off of two very real people… Kim actually DOES really like cheese puff and is very hyper…  well… I hope you guys review! And criticism is always welcome, if it's constructive! Oh, and I wanted to ask you… do you think my A/Ns are too long? Just wondering… Hope you don't hate me for putting in Lyeah and Kimiko! -.-' Okay! Bye Byes!**

**-Mi ChIbO-**

**beep…**


	24. Hello To You Too

**Hiya people! Yes… I'm updating… amazing, isn't it? Heehee… anywho, here you go Amaherst! I worked long an hard on this! Hope you like it… even though it's more of a filler chappie… I don't own CL blahdy, blahdy, blah, blah, here's the story! I've blahed enough!**

Ulrich tapped his foot impatiently, willing that clock's hands to move faster. Turner and Jessie joined him in the living room after a few seconds.

"Ulrich, chill!" Turner laughed, "We're not going to meet the president!"

Jessie laid a hand on his shoulder, "Loosen up a little, Ul. It'll all be fine."

"I hope so," he said, jumping up from his position on the couch. Taking his keys from his pocket, he strode toward the door with large steps. Jessie and Turner hurried behind him so as not to get left behind.

Ulrich jumped into the driver's seat of the Acura® and slammed the door behind him. Turner sat in shotgun while Jessie sat in the middle seat behind him.

"Ulrich, man, what has gotten into you?" Turner asked.

"Uh… nothing?" the brunette grinned sheepishly.

Turner shook his head and buckled up, "Well you'd better snap out of it or the girls will think you're mental."

"Oh, believe me," Ulrich laughed, starting up the car, "I'm well past that."

-:-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------:-

Ulrich pulled the knocker on the door and let it fall down onto the hard wood with a bang.

"Just a second!" someone called from inside.

"More like an hour…"

"Hello to you too," Ulrich chuckled as Kimiko opened the door with two coats in hand.

"Hi Ulrich!" she smiled, "How are you?"

"He'd be a lot better if you shut you're yap for five seconds," Lyeah said, walking up to the door from her place on the hotel bed, "Ulrich will you _please_ tell Kimi here that it's eighty degrees outside and she doesn't need a coat?"

"Sure… Kim, Lyeah would like you to know that it's eighty degrees outside and you don't need a coat. That's coming from her, not me."

"Ha, ha, very funny Mr. Balancing act," Lyeah glared at him. He stuck his tongue out playfully at her.

Kimiko pouted, "But I wanted to wear one… it might be cold in the restaurant you know!"

Lyeah grabbed a cushion from a nearby chair and flung it at her. Kimiko squealed and caught it before it hit her.

"NooOOO! Pillows are for hugging!" she cried, embracing it and casting a frightened look at Lyeah.

"Yeah, yeah, so are monkeys (A/N: It's an inside joke… you probably wouldn't get it…). Come on now let's go."

Ulrich grinned and leaned against the doorframe.

"You guys have no idea how much I've got to tell you. And as long as you stop fighting, I will."

"All right, fine. Move it then, mister!"

"Hurry makes waste, my dear relative."

"Yes, and as your older sister's mother's aunt, twice removed, yadda, yadda, yadda, I am commanding you to MARCH!" she said, pointing toward the hall.

"Youch, fighting with everyone today, now aren't we?" he teased.

"Shut up."

"She's been like this since Miranda ticked her off," Kimiko said, dropping the cushion, "Let's just say that it wasn't pretty."

"Oh? Do tell," he laughed, clearing the way and walking down the hall to the elevator with them.

"I only gave her what was coming," Lyeah said, angrily jabbing the button.

"She quit. Then Miranda tried to get her back to working on the set, but…"

"I threw the permanent Swamp Green paint on her and walked calmly away."

"Actually, it was more like stomped," Kimiko sent a scared look at the tall brunette girl who was leaning against the wall, her arms crossed.

"Whatever," Lyeah grumbled as the elevator arrived and they all joined two young teenage girls and a middle-aged man and woman.

"Wrong answer, _Leah Lewal_," he said, shaking his head.

"Oh well, _Ulrich Stern_," she said, resuming her stance, this time slumped against the side of the elevator.

Kimiko rolled her eyes and sighed, "Impossible."

"Yep, you are," Lyeah said, her gaze snapping to the short Taiwanese raven.

"Um, excuse me," the man tapped Lyeah on the shoulder timidly, "Did I hear your friend call you Lyeah Lewal?"

"Yes, sir," Lyeah said, straightening up and taking a small business card from her pocket.

"You're from that logo design company?"

"As well as KHS, Art Inc., the Manga Artists' Group, Sell Me Art, KHS Set Design-" Kimiko muttered under her breath.

The man's shocked eyes found the raven's dark ones, "And are you Kimiko Wanoua?"

"At your service," she said with a small bow.

"Oh my! You two are just the people I was going to call tomorrow! Is Shara Matthews with you by any chance?"

"No, sorry. She's away right now," Lyeah said politely.

"Mmm… well, anyways, I was wondering, would you three design a logo for my company? We need a new one badly and we only have so much time on hand for designing it ourselves…"

"We would love to!" Kimiko beamed, "Our e-mail address is on the card. Send us what you would like with the information about the company and we can get right on it!"

The man put the card in his pocket as the door opened and Ulrich, Lyeah and Kimiko stepped out of the elevator when the doors slid open, revealing the lobby.

"Yes, I will! Thank you!"

"No," Lyeah laughed.

"Thank _you_," the girls said in unison. The doors closed right in front of the man's giddy face.

Lyeah's smile stayed there at they walked to the car where Turner and Jessie were waiting.

"Ah," Ulrich laughed as they all got in, "Suddenly you go from Ms. Grumpy to Ms. Lovely."

"Don't ruin my moment," Lyeah glared at him, her face immediately going from pleasant to evil, then back to nicey-nice again as she greeted Turner and Jessie, "Hi. I'm Lyeah, and this is Kimiko. It's a pleasure to meat you."

"I'm Turner."

"And I'm Jessie. It's wonderful to meet you too."

Kimiko smiled and pulled her seatbelt out. She tried to push it into the buckle, but it popped right back out. Blinking quizzically, she tried again. It did the same thing. She started to overreact and spazzed when she realized it wouldn't click.

"Ulrich! ULRICH! The seatbelt won't buckle! Ulrich! Help!" she said, trying again and again to buckle herself in.

Lyeah sighed and reached behind Jessie and snapped it into place. Kimiko looked at it, surprised, and then looked up and smiled innocently at her friend.

"Um… heehee?"

Lyeah rolled her eyes, "Yeah."

"Does this happen often?" Turner asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You have _no _idea," Lyeah grumbled. Ulrich snickered and started up the car.

"Oooo! Where're we going?" Kimiko asked, bouncing up and down on the plush leather seat.

Ulrich turned around in his seat to look out of the back window and reversed out of the parking space.

"We were thinking California Dreaming," Jessie smiled.

"Hmmm… California in Ohio? That's weird…" Kimiko tapped her nose in thought, "But sure! I've been there before! We went to one somewhere in the East when we were painting another set there! I don't remember what state though…"

"Awesome… a Western restaurant in the East!" Turner chuckled.

"No different from the one here, probably," Lyeah shook her head.

-:-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------:-

"And I was right…" she rolled her eyes as they walked in the door of a normal-looking restaurant.

"Welcome to Ohio," Turner said in an announcer's voice, "Home of all the California food you can eat!"

Kimiko giggled and skipped along as they walked up to a man behind a dark wooden table.

"Table for five please," Ulrich requested.

The man nodded, "That'll be about a fifteen minute wait. Will you take it?"

"Yeah," Ulrich said, taking the buzzer the man handed him and joining the rest of them, who had fallen back a few steps when the back strap of Kimiko's shoe snapped.

"What's the wait?" Jessie asked him.

Ulrich tapped the buzzer, "Fifteen."

"Not bad," said Turner."

"Oh no! I forgot the needle and thread I always carry in my purse!" Kimiko cried.

"Oh my freakin' gosh," Lyeah groaned and grabbed the shoe Kimiko had been cradling. She withdrew a needle and a spool of black thread from her bag and sat on a vacant waiting bench. Pulling off about two feet of the thread and pulling it until it broke, she slid one end through the eye of the needle and stuck it in the strap of the shoe.

"Be careful!" Kimiko cried.

"Relax, Kimi," Ulrich laughed, "It's not like she hasn't done this before." Kimiko stared at him oddly. "What?"

"She _hasn't_."

"Oh."

"There!" Lyeah muttered as she snapped the thread with her teeth, "Happy birthday."

Kimiko squealed happily, attracting many crazy looks from the surrounding tables, and took the shoe. Slipping it on, she walked around, testing it.

"It works!" she said, "Thank you Lyeah!"

"Anytime," Lyeah snickered, causing the rest of them to crack up. Except for Kimiko, who didn't get it at all.

**There you go! I gots nothing random to say… so… yeah… here you go people! This was more of a filler chappie, I think… it didn't like it very much… anywho, review please before you leave! Come on… you know you want to!**

**-Mi ChIbO-**

**beep…**


	25. Told Ya So

**Hey guys! And girls… Heh… LTNS! Here's the next chapter for Into the Goal! I think this'll be the chapter where the gang comes back to America… yippee hooray! OMG! I just realized that this story is over 6 months old! YAY! Heehee… Oh! And this chapter marks the end of the first half of this story! Yahoo! Anywho, I'll stop babbling and get on with it… I don't own Code Lyoko or California Dreaming… foo… heehee… Anywhoozles, I'll start writing! Here you go!**

Lyeah twirled her straw around in her coke, the ice clinking against the cup. Ulrich sat with his cheek resting on his hand, looking like he was about to fall asleep as they listened to the waiter list off all the deserts. It had been an interesting meal.

First, Kimiko had tried to slide into the booth and fell over onto the seat. Then Lyeah had opened her straw wrapper and blew it at Ulrich, engaging them all in a Wrapper War until they ran out of straw. Turner's fork accidentally got hit and flew up in the air before burying itself in a roll that the waitress had just brought. Ulrich and Jessie had been talking when Kimiko yelled something about a spider, which was actually a very creepy-looking piece of lint. And finally, Ulrich was eating his side salad when a crouton jumped and hit him in the middle of the forehead.

"So," said the waitress, causing Ulrich to jump and blink twice, "What'll it be?"

"I'll just have a mint," Lyeah said, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Brownie," Turner nodded.

Jessie smiled politely, "Same."

"Vanilla ice cream," Ulrich mumbled, yawning.

Kimiko was the only one who looked interested when she squealed after looking at the menu, almost causing the waitress to drop her book, "OoOoo! Do you have cheesecake?"

"Well, yes we do…"

"Then I'll have that!"

"Okay then! I'll be right out with your orders," she grinned painfully before hurrying away. Kimiko looked at the others, confused.

"What?" she asked obliviously. Lyeah shook her head, grinning. She lifted her head and covered her mouth, holding back a laugh. Turner was already cracking; a couple of sniggers escaping his tightly clamped lips. Jessie smirked and Ulrich tried to take a drink. He ended up choking on it and Turner had to whack him on the back. Kimiko shrugged and bounced up and down in her seat. It squeaked and her eyes widened, her mouth forming the shape of an "O". She bounced up and down to the tune of an unknown song until Lyeah burst out laughing, Ulrich, Jessie, and Turner soon doing the same.

"What song was it?" Ulrich gasped, wiping tears from his eyes. Kimiko beamed.

"The Muffin Man!" That got them started again. Lyeah grinned as the waitress came back and set their desserts in front of them. She unwrapped her mint and popped it in her mouth as Kimiko looked wide-eyed at the cheesecake in front of her.

"I'm not sure you should have that…" Lyeah muttered as the raven-haired girl dug into it.

Ulrich smirked, his mouth full of ice cream. He swallowed, "Good luck tonight, Lewal."

"Thanks for the sympathy, but you still have to drive her, you know."

"Oh great…"

------------------------------------------------------------

"That really hit the spot," Turner sighed heavily as they walked back to the car.

"Yep," Jessie agreed, "Noting like a good Cali meal in the middle of Ohio." Lyeah, though didn't look too happy. Maybe it was because Ulrich had teased her, or maybe it was because Kimiko was standing next to her talking a mile a minute.

"SoIwasthinkingthatmaybesometimeweshouldmeetupagain.Iknowwe'reindifferentstatesandeverythingbutIthinkwecouldmakeitwork.Ohyeah,when'stheweddingUlrich?Wedding.That'safunnyword.Weddingweddingweddingweddingweddingweddingweddingwed-"

"PUT A MUFFIN IN IT!" Lyeah roared. Kimiko got very quiet. Then-

"Cheese puffs?" she asked in a pitiful voice.

Lyeah turned her head to look sharply at her, "No."

"Aww, please Lyeah?" Kimiko whined.

"NO!"

"You two bicker like a couple of sisters," Ulrich said, rolling his eyes.

"Spare me, Stern!" Lyeah groaned.

"I'd love to. How?"

"Well, for starters you could take over selling-"

"On second thought, I take back my offer!" he said, holding up his hands in surrender.

Lyeah shook her head while Turner and Jessie laughed, "I thought so. You wouldn't last one day in my shoes."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah!"

"Prove it!"

"Sorry, but I don't feel like wrecking my business."

"You're just afraid that I might be good at it!"

"Uh-huh, riiiiiiiiiiiiiiight."

"You are!"

"Okay," Lyeah smirked, stopping, "Then I challenge you to a race!"

"Fine! I'm way faster than you anyw-"

"On a bike."

"WHAT!"

"You agreed. My bike is hooked onto our car, drive us back and then we'll meet up at your house."

"But that's not fair! You can do loads more than I can on a bike!"

"True… fine, I'll ride without my hands, happy?"

"That doesn't seem quite fair…"

"Look, either you ride or you chicken out and prove I'm right, take your pick. You can't have your cake and eat it too!"

"I did!" Kimiko grinned. Lyeah and Ulrich (they'd been facing each other in a fighting stance…) turned their heads to look at her oddly. The Taiwanese girl held up two fingers in a peace sign.

Lyeah shook her head and turned back to her victim, "So which is it, Ulrich?"

He hesitated, and then yelled out, "YOU'RE ON! And I plan on you biking with your hands too… So I can laugh in your face when I beat you."

------------------------------------------------------------

Lyeah leaned calmly on the handlebars of her bike as she stood above it, ready to mount. Ulrich pushed his bike up beside her and looked dead into her eyes.

"Prepare to eat your words," he laughed evilly.

She smirked, "I plan to serve them on top of your pancakes tomorrow." He pulled a face.

"Oh, I wouldn't do that Lyeah," Jessie warned.

"He's very competitive," Turner said worriedly.

Lyeah clicked the buckle on her helmet into place, "Just like me." Turner shrugged and held out his arm. They were on the road to Ulrich's house. It was a good mile long, easy for them to ride on. Turner, Jessie, and Kimiko were to cut through Ulrich's back yard to the finish line and wait for them to come. Jessie's eyebrows were pulled together as he shouted.

"On your mark. Get set… GO!" Ulrich was off leaving Lyeah in the dust.

'Sucker,' he thought as he raced along the road. That fast head start soon tired him out though and after about half of the mile, he had to slow down. Lyeah passed him, her hands on her knees as she smiled innocently, her hair flying out behind her mocking him. He scowled as she put her hands back on the bars and sped away. When he reached the finish line, she was already standing by her bike, talking excitedly to Kimiko and Jessie. Turner looked up.

"Sorry, man. She beat you by a good thirty seconds."

"Yeah, I know…" Ulrich replied gloomily, dismounting. He walked over to Lyeah and held out his hand, "Good race." She looked him over, fiddling with her black chocker.

She shook it; "Well you need your self esteem lowered every once in a while. So I figured I'd do it personally." He groaned.

"You-" he started.

She cut him off, "Yes, I know I should knock down a few notches myself."

He blinked, "Are you a mind reader or something?'

She shrugged, smiling mysteriously, "You could call me that." Putting her hand him her pocket, she withdrew a tiny stone. It was a whitish-blue, yet it glowed green in the darkness. She pressed it onto his palm. "If you talk, it'll listen. Remember: Life is a game board… you're just one of the six point five billion players." He lifted his eyes to stare at her, but she and Kimiko were gone.

**Time Jump**

The Last Day Of School

------------------------------------------------------------

Yumi tapped her pencil on her notebook impatiently. Aelita looked away from the teacher for the first time in… well, forever! Quickly scribbling something down on the edge of her paper, she slid it over to the Japanese girl.

It read: _Five more minutes._

She took her pen and wrote back.

**I know… I just don't think I'll make it!**

_Of course you will. Look. Only 4 minutes now._

**That stupid clock is slow**

_Excuses, excuses._

**Shuddup**

_No!_

**Fine! Be that way!**

_I will! XD_

**XP**

_Don't flatter me._

**I'm not**

_Hey look! Another minute has passed!_

**AAAAAA!**

_What?_

**I FORGOT TO PACK!**

_No… you packed Yumi. You packed up your entire room… remember? Sheesh, pull yourself together! O.O"_

**Be quiet! You'd be nervous too if you were getting married to Jeremy and weren't able to see him a month before the wedding.**

_--Blushies--Don't forget having to respond by email!_

**--Groan--**

_Look! One more minute!_

**Spare me**

_I don't plan on it_

**Meanie XP**

_That's me! _

Suddenly, the bell rang, signaling the end of the school year. Yumi crumpled the paper into a ball and threw it in the trash as they dashed to the door with Jeremy and Odd close behind them. They all grinned like idiots when they found themselves outside Odd's room. They had all piled their bags in there since it was closest to the door **(A/N: I don't know if that's true… so bear with me please ) **Odd laughed and opened the door. They all hauled their bags onto their shoulders and trudged outside. There, right next to the curb, was the rental Saturn Vue. And next to that were at least fifteen boxes. Who knew that taking everything out of a dorm room would be so difficult? Just like the old saying, "You never know how much stuff you have until you pack it all up and move."

Yumi was visibly bobbing up and down impatiently as Jeremy took out the keys and unlocked the trunk. Once the back was open, they piled all the boxes in as best they could, some having to be in the middle where Yumi and Odd would be sitting. When all the bags and boxes were in, Jeremy closed the trunk and they all hopped in the car. Aelita rode shotgun, of course, and as she buckled her seatbelt, she looked back at Odd and Yumi. The raven was sitting erect, her hands clasped in her lap while she stared out the window expectantly. Odd, who was behind her, was WAY more relaxed. He had one foot on the edge of his seat and the other on the back of her headrest. He was drumming his fingers on the seat and humming along to the tune of "Break, Break, Break Dance." Jeremy started the car and they set out for the airport.

------------------------------------------------------------

Yumi paced back and forth in front of the large airport window. Jeremy was linking to the Ohio weather channel while Aelita looked over his shoulder.

The announcers voice came over the loudspeaker, "Seats A through B please begin boarding at this time. Seats A through B, please board." Odd couldn't hear through his headphones and almost got left behind as the group walked toward the doors. After about 20 minutes of agony for Yumi, the plane started down the runway and took off in the direction of the USA.

**Yay! I finally finished! Yippee! Heh… so… it's kind of a cliffie… kinda not… I dunno… Anywho, I hope you liked it! Please leave a review on the way out!**

**-Mi ChIbO-**

**beep…**


	26. Above The Clouds

**DC: Me no own Code Lyoko… or a ball joint doll! WAH! (see bottom for info on ball-joint dolls…) Heh… so yeah… here you are!  (Warning: ULRICH AND YUMI FLUFF AHEAD!) Chika: Yippee? Me: ) **

_In, out. In, out. In- oh whatever._

Yumi hugged her knees to her chest and stared at the intricate patterns on the seat in front of her. Odd sat next to her, singing a new song that he'd made up. She'd tried falling asleep… too nervous. Drawing? Her hand was shaking too much. Listening to music? Her ears wouldn't work properly. She fingered the pillow in her lap and sighed. The purple-clad boy looked over to her and stopped singing.

"Yumes?"

She looked up, her fingers trailing off of the soft fabric.

"You okay?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. She shrugged and nodded.

A short blonde stewardess **(it took me a while to remember that word… heh…) **pushed a cart to their seats, "Would you like a drink?"

"Coke please!" Odd nodded.

"Just a water, thanks," Yumi mumbled. The woman nodded and took out a coke and a mini bottle of water. Cracking the can open, she poured half of it into an ice-filled cup and handed it to Odd. After giving Yumi the water, she put a pack of pretzels on each of their trays and wished them a happy flight before turning to the people on the other side.

Aelita's pink head appeared happily between the seats in front of them, "Hey! How's it going back there?"

"This is torture!" Yumi wailed silently. She unscrewed the cap and took a sip from her bottle.

"Don't worry Yumi! It's only a few more hours before we get to America **(yeah, I know… BIG time jump…)**," she smiled.

"Yeah. Only a few more hours of pain," Jeremy grinned, his head emerging above his seat.

Yumi groaned.

-:--------------------------------------------A Whole Lot Later-------------------------------------:-

Ulrich paced nervously in front of his rainy window. Turner and Jessie came into view at the doorway.

"Ulrich," Jessie whispered.

The brunette turned around and stared at them by the warm glow of the light.

Turner smirked, "It's time."

Ulrich's face spread into a grin and he grabbed his coat.

-:-----------------------------------------------------Later---------------------------------------------:-

"Welcome to Ohio," a blonde attendant smiled as they exited the long hallway. Aelita, Odd and Jeremy nodded at her as Yumi appeared behind them, standing on tip-toe to peek over Odd's hair **(A/N: Can you see that in your mind? XD)**.

Suddenly, she let out a strangled cry, "ULRICH!"

Two people near the window looked up and a tall brunette turned around slowly. The warm yellow light caught his hair and made his eyes dance A large white smile fell across his mouth, contrasting with his skin.

She started walking, hesitated, then ran. Her bag fell to the ground beside them both as she jumped onto him, encasing him in a humongous hug.

They're momentum spun them around before slowing down. When they had come to a complete stop, he turned her head and captured her lips in a long, passionate kiss. Catcalls were made **(A/N: Probably Jer, Odd, and Turner… X) heehee… those guys…) **all around them and a few giggles could be heard as well. But they couldn't hear them.

They were lost in they're own little world above the stormy black clouds.

-:--------------------------------------------Later… Yet Again-------------------------------------:-

Ulrich pulled his mouth away from Yumi's and whispered in her ear, "I love you."

She let the words wash over her, her eyes still closed and her lips bruised. The light from the warm fire in front of her danced across her eyelids entertainingly. Her chocolate orbs slid halfway open and she hovered close to him. His closed.

"I know," she murmured before capturing him in a gentle, yet powerful kiss. She pulled away quickly and he brought his lips to her cheek and tracing her face and neck with soft pecks. He hit her weak spot and she moaned. He grinned and brushed over it again.

"Where did everyone else go," she mumbled as his fingers traced patterns on her back.

"Don't know. Don't care," he said seductively.

"Yes you do know."

"Mmmm…" he spoke softly, "Fine. They're taking a walk along the river."

"I hope they brought umbrellas," she sighed happily before he kissed her again.

-:-------------------------------------Let's Go 2 Aelita & Jeremy---------------------------------:-

Aelita trailed her fingers along a wet rose. The rain pounded on the pink **(A/N: What other color would it be?)** umbrella she and Jeremy stood under.

The genius laced their fingers together, making her look up in bewilderment.

"What's the meaning of the rose?" he smirked. Her expression brightened and she threw her arms around his neck, causing them both to fall back into a large puddle.

"Love!" she laughed.

He chuckled as they picked themselves up, muddy clothes and all. Kissing her hair, he whispered one word- "Yes."

**Yeah, it was a stinky ending… and it was short… --;;; oh well… at least there was U/Y fluff!  GO FLUFF! So… yeah… I've become currently obsessed w/ ball-joint dolls… : ) they're so awesome! A good site where you can see pictures of them is w-w-w-.-e-t-e-r-n-a-l-w-i-n-t-e-r-.-o-r-g-/-d-o-l-l-/ (just take out all the '-' marks) heehee… the pics are under "Photo" (Chika: That's kinda obvious) (Me: X) ) heh… so… yeah…me wants one really bad! ;;pouty face;; … that was… random… heh. anywho, REVIEW!**

**-Mi ChIbO-**

**beep…**


	27. Never Interrupt The Lovebirds

**Um… heh? I have no excuse… other than I have a whole lot on my 'to-do' list. I'm sorry! SORRYSORRYSORRYSORRYSORRY A THOUSAND TIMES OVER! My schedule just leaves me no time… wah! I don't own CL or the song 'More' by Matthew West. Okay… You probably want to get reading the chappie that you've been waiting so long for… so here you go!**

Ulrich collapsed on the soft grass of the soccer field. His eyes closed and he put his hands behind his head. A dark shadow fell across his eyelids and he opened one to see the blocker. It was Yumi.

"Done with practice?" she smiled softly, plopping down next to him. He nodded.

"Yeah. Finally."

She stared at the grass and plucked a blade from the sea of green. Quietly, she started humming. He rolled up and put his hand on the back of her head, stroking her hair, "You're up a little early, aren't you?"

"You're one to talk Mr. Soccer-practice-at-five-in-the-morning," she smiled. He fell back onto the ground again, closing his eyes for the second time.

Chuckling, he said, "I know, I know." Suddenly, he let out a slight 'oomph' and his eyes shot open as Yumi straddled his stomach. With one knee on either side of his waist and her small hands pinning his wrists to the ground, she leaned down and kissed him. It was a quick little peck and he didn't have time to kiss back before she lifted her mouth from his. He mumbled little incoherent phrases under his breath.

"What was that?" she asked sweetly.

He smirked, "Nothing, babe." She flushed a dark red and he took this opportunity to free his hands, sit up, and place his mouth on hers. She now sat in his lap and his hands were running up and down her back, causing a pleasant tingling sensation to run up and down her spine.

Breaking off the kiss, she gasped out with what breath she had left, "I love you."

"Ditto."

"Oh, very romantic, Romeo."

"Right back at ya Juliet."

"I hate you."

"Ditto."

She growled deep in her throat. Rocking back, she pushed him onto the ground again and fell on top. He looked down in bewilderment as she nuzzled into his hard chest and closed her eyes. A small smile replaced the confused frown and he placed a hand on her shoulder and fisted one in her hair, stroking it calmly. She listened.

_Th-Thump._

_Th-Thump._

_Th-Thump._

His heart rate was slow, unlike hers, which was like a horse on race day.

"Yumi?"

_Th-Thump._

_Th-Thump._

_Th-Thump._

"Hmmm?"

_Th-Thump._

_Th-Thump._

_Th-Thump._

'I love you too."

She smiled, "Ditto."

_Th-Thump. _

_Th-Thump. _

_Th-Thump. _

_Th-Thump. _

_Th-Thump. _

_Th-_

BANG!

Yumi and Ulrich shot up to see Odd pop out from behind a bush with a tiny toy gun in his hand.

"I _sc-aaaaaared_ you!" he sang triumphantly.

Yumi looked at Ulrich and liked her lips, "May I do the honors?"

The brunette bowed, "Please do. But I get to kill him again once you're done."

"Guys…" Odd whimpered.

"Deal. OOOOOOOOODDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD!" Yumi let out a warrior cry and chased the cat-boy to a nearby tree, which he climbed up in his haste to get away from her. "GET BACK DOWN HERE OR I'LL COME UP _THERE_ AND FINISH YOU OFF!"

"I CHOOSE THE NEXT ANSWER!"

"And what would that be?" she hissed as he dropped down to a slightly lower branch, his feet dangling.

"Saaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaam!" the blonde yelled as she grabbed his shoes and ripped them off of his feet.

"Get out of it yourself Odd," the named girl said as she came up beside Yumi, her hands on her hips.

"Come on, baby," he pleaded.

"No."

He switched tactics and started to sing,

"_I love you more than the sun_

_And the stars that I taught how to shine._

_You are mine, and you shine for me too._

_I love you yesterday and today,_

_And tomorrow, I'll say it again and again_

_I love you more._" **(A/N: this is 'More' by Matthew West. The rest of the song is at the bottom! X) )**

Sam blushed, but didn't move as Yumi tossed her boyfriend's shoes into a nearby puddle.

"Aww, Yumi. You didn't have to do _that_…"

"Oh save it, Odd," she snapped.

_Whoa,_ he thought, _She must be really ticked. I guess I shouldn't have interrupted her lovey time with Ully. Oh well. Damage: Done. Anger level: New record! Go Oddball! Ulrich's Reaction: Uh-oh… I'm dead._

"BOO!" someone boomed in his ear. He screamed like a girl and fell out of the tree and flat on his face. Laughter could be heard from all around him, Even above him. He groaned, rolled over, and spat out the grass and dirt he'd unfortunately gotten the chance to taste. Opening his eyes, he saw Ulrich standing on the limb he'd been sitting on, his elbows resting on a branch that reached just behind the middle of his back. The brunette was grinning mockingly. He pushed off of the branch and into the air. He did flip, twisted in a confusing way, and landed expertly on one hand very close to the gasping boy, his other hand tucked behind his back in a fist. His was still smiling, his pearly white teeth almost blinding odd. He bent his elbow, touched the tip of his nose to the grass, and then pushed up and did a back handspring, landing perfectly beside Yumi, who jumped out of the way, thinking he was going to hit her.

"Want to go get breakfast, Yumes? Sam?" he asked, wrapping his arm around his fiancé. She nodded timidly and Sam snickered.

"Sure Ulrich, I would love to go. But I already ate. Sorry."

"It's okay. Yumi and I will just eat alone then. Hey, why don't we eat in my room?"

"Sounds good to me…" Their voices faded away and Sam went to retrieve Odd's sopping shoes.

"Mental note: Do not interrupt the lovebirds while they're alone or kissing or making out or what ever…" Odd muttered, rubbing his cheek.

"Nice grammar," Sam giggled, dropping his shoes beside him, "Perfect in fact."

"Really?"

"No."

"Oh."

"Come on," Sam shook her head, "Let's go inside you dork."

"Meanie."

"And proud of it," she said, skipping away as he pulled on his shoes and raced after her.

**Again, I'm sorry about the wait… and the stupidly short filler. Really really REALLY sorry… I hope you guys forgive me… please? Anywho, I'll try and have the next chappie up sooner… much sooner… heh… please review! It'll make me feel better if I know that all you people persons are reading this. Please people persons? Please? I hope you do… Oh, and I wrote a small little oneshot… it's in my prof cuz it's not about any show/movie/book or anything… so… yeah… please read it… sorry again, and buh-bye!**

**-Mi ChIbO-**

**beep…**

**More**

**By: Matthew West**

**Album: Happy**

Take a look at the mountains

Stretching a mile high

Take a look at the ocean

Far as your eye can see

And think of me

Take a look at the desert

Do you feel like a grain of sand?

I am with you wherever

Where you go is where I am

And I'm always thinking of you

Take a look around you

I'm spelling it out one by one

(Chorus)

I love you more than the sun

And the stars that I taught how to shine

You are mine, and you shine for me too

I love you yesterday and today

And tomorrow, I'll say it again and again

I love you more

Just a face in the city

Just a tear on a crowded street

But you are one in a million

And you belong to me

And I want you to know

That I'm not letting go

Even when you come undone

(Chorus)

I love you more than the sun

And the stars that I taught how to shine

You are mine, and you shine for me too

I love you yesterday and today

And tomorrow, I'll say it again and again

I love you more

I love you more

Shine for Me

Shine for Me

Shine on, shine on

Shine for Me

(Chorus)

I love you more than the sun

And the stars that I taught how to shine

You are mine, and you shine for me too

I love you yesterday and today

And tomorrow, I'll say it again and again

I love you more

(Chorus)

Than the sun

And the stars that I taught how to shine

You are mine, and you shine for me too

I love you, yesterday and today

Through the joy and the pain

I'll say it again and again

I love you more

I love you more

And I see you

And I made you

And I love you more than you can imagine

More than you can fathom

I love you more than the sun

And you shine for me


	28. Sometimes Life Takes An Unexpected Turn

**Yeah… I'M BACK! YAY! Cough… heh… here's an update for all you waiting peoplezes… yup, yup, yup! Sorry it came so late… my life's been really… hectic… but yeah… hopefully I can update soon! Maybe if you review after you read this, I will… Hint, hint… Okay, I don't own anything except the plot and my OCs… yadda yadda ya… here you go!**

She felt her heart beating a hundred times per minute. His lips were softly caressing hers and she could still taste the clashing salt and sugar from the syrupy pancakes and crispy bacon. She pried her hands from his chest and placed them on his warm back as he pulled away. He sent her a meaningful glance when she opened her eyes. Laughing, she watched his trademark grin start to take over his face.

"I love you too, Ulrich."

His mop of brown hair flopped over one eye and when he tried to blow it out of the way, it just jumped up and fell back onto his face. She pulled her hand up and brushed the hair away, staring deeply into his brown-green pools. After pushing herself on top of him, she turned over and laid the back of her head against his strong chest. She felt him scoot back against the headboard of the large bed and puller her back with him. He traced patterns along her side through her tank top. She stretched her arms back and laced her fingers together behind his neck. Suddenly, she jumped when he hit a ticklish spot and squealed. He grinned and put his hands on his knees. She turned to glare at him. His tousled hair and lopsided smile mesmerized her and her mind was wiped blank with the vision of him in his sweatpants and muscle shirt. She turned back and lay against him again, grabbing a piece of bacon from the tray by the bed. After chewing on it absent mindedly, still aware that he was stroking her hair, she smiled.

"Hey, remember when you asked me if I was going to do that movie with you?" she asked.

"Yeah…" he mumbled into her shoulder.

She put her hand on his head and gently took his face from the crook of her neck, forcing him to look her in the eye… after he stole her bacon first. "When do we start, you know, getting together to discuss the filming?"

"I dunno. She said sometime after the wedding. I don't know when and she hasn't said anything about it. But don't worry," he added when a skeptic expression took over her features, "I know Pam. She'll be sure to give us a good two weeks' notice. I'm positive."

She nodded at his serious expression, "Okay. I trust you."

She took another piece of bacon and ate it quickly before he could grab it away.

"Hey!" he whined, "That was the last piece!"

"Baby…" she giggled playfully. He tickled her sides mercilessly.

"Maybe someday, Yumi," he whispered, causing her to flush a dark red. (A/N: THEY HAVEN'T DONE ANYTHING PEOPLE!)

-----

Odd shoveled stack after stack of pancakes into his mouth. His girlfriend watched, an eyebrow raised, as the cook hurried to and from the stove. A groggy Jeremy and a perky Aelita walked into the room and the chef nearly cried. Sam smiled at Jeremy's unkempt hair and ruffled clothes. Aelita pulled out a seat by the girl and plopped down happily.

"Hi Sam!" she grinned and picked up a fork as the cook set a plate of sloppy brown pancakes in front of her and Jeremy. She took a spoon and heaped a small pile of eggs on her plate and stole two pieces of bacon and the fancy pitcher of syrup. After dousing her pancakes in the sticky, sugary goodness, she stabbed a big piece and stuffed it in her mouth with a hum of satisfaction.

"What are we going to do today?" Sam asked, leaning back and slouching in the seat.

"Uwwich shaid we wha gouna gotoa gam tuhnigh," Odd said, his mouth full. Sam's lip curled.

"Swallow and speak," Jeremy said sleepily from across the table. There was a big gulp and the spiky haired boy leaned back in his seat. In the same position as his girlfriend, creepily enough.

"Ah, what a good breakfast. Anyway, Ulrich said we were going to go to a game tonight." This time, the cook did cry with happiness.

"Well that occupies the evening, but what about for the rest of the day?"

"I dunno. We could go to the park…?"

"Hey guys?" Aelita whispered timidly.

"Yeah, 'Lita?" Sam turned to her. The pink-haired girl was quiet.

"Aeliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiita!" Odd whined.

"We still have to figure out… are we going to stay here with Ulrich and Yumi in America? Or… go back to France?"

When she said this, they all fell silent. Jeremy, though, had an excuse—he had fallen asleep in his scrambled eggs.

-----

"Geeze, you guy's have been pretty quiet today," Ulrich laughed. Turner and Jessie looked over at the four people who had barely said anything but "yes", "no", and a few other one-syllable words that could put a person to sleep. The tall brunette put his arm out, causing Odd to take a fist in the gut… on accident, of course.

"Sorry!" Ulrich said quickly, taking his hand from the boy's stomach.

Aelita's mouth flattened and she looked at a wilting lily.

Jeremy yawned and spoke for all of them, "We just have a lot on our minds. We get our exam scores in a few days."

Sam crossed her fingers in the pocket of her tight black pants. The chain attached to them clinked and slapped against her thigh as they walked.

Jessie gave them a friendly smile, "You'll do good, guys. I know it."

"Speaking for them…" Odd mumbled under his breath, making the tense atmosphere vanish as everyone laughed.

Suddenly, Yumi started slowing down. The rest were a few paces ahead before they finally realized that she had come to a complete stop. Ulrich turned slightly so that his shoulder faced her and twisted his head around to look at her.

"Yumi? You coming?"

She sat down, right there, on the pavement. Ulrich motioned to the others to go on, but they shook their heads and stayed put. He shrugged, stepped over to his fiancé, and squatted down beside her. Putting one hand on her back, he used the other to lift her head and connect his soft eyes to her glassy ones.

"You okay?" he whispered. She curled her fingers around the opening of his green sports jacket and pulled herself forward to bury her face in his white muscle shirt. He chuckled, "I love you too, but what's wrong?"

She mumbled something into his chest. With a comforting grasp, he pulled her head away from him and forced her to look at him.

"What did you say, Yumi?"

"I don't want to leave you tomorrow."

A gentle smile settled over his features. The following day, Aelita, Sam, and Jessie would take Yumi away to a hotel. It had been decided earlier that they would go with the old tradition of not letting the groom see the bride for 24 hours before the wedding. At the time, Yumi had seemed all right with this, but not now apparently.

He tenderly caressed her cheek, "You're going to be fine Yumi. Think of it this way: I'm always with you, because I'm in your heart," he murmured, placing his hand over the place he spoke of. She put her delicate fingers on top of his and gripped his hand tightly. He grinned, hugged her briefly, and stood up. She held onto his arm as they continued walking, a small smile creeping up on her face ever so slowly.

Odd walked behind the group, biting his knuckle as thoughts ran through his tormented mind.

_How can I tell them that I already got my scores? That I failed as well? I couldn't. No, I can't dampen their happiness of a life together. I'd be the most horrible friend in the world, telling them I failed just two days before their wedding._

_But how… how can I tell them…_

_That I have to take the courses over again…_

_And live with my parents…_

_Over in New Zealand?_

**OoOoo… Odd's got a secret! Shhhh… you mustn't tell the gang!**

**The Gang: Tell us what?**

**Me & Odd: (sweatdrop) Nothing, Nothing!**

**Anywho, please leave a review on your way out! I had to write this during the time in which I had a huge project due, so it may be horrible. Scratch that, it is. Oh well, I hope you like it. The rating will probably go up, but no further than "T" for all you people out there! Heh… anyway, I'm feeling really happy right now… and confused… but other than that and my hyperness, I'm fine! –BIG HUMONGO CHEER!- Ummm… yeah… my life is confusing, so I may not be updating for a while… and report cards are coming… (SCREAMS AND DIES) I think I failed SS… and Math… and PE… and Spanish… but other than that, I think I'm good! Teeheehee. Please review!**

**-Mi ChIbO-**

**beep…**


	29. It's only TwentyFour Hours, Yumi

**Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooh my gosh…. I HAVEN'T UPDATED IN ALMOST 2 MONTHS!!!!! Geez, I'm a retard. I'm soooo sorry! I meant to update, I really did! But I have so much freakin homework and junk that I didn't have time! WAH! –runs off crying—**

"COME ON ULRICH, GIVE 'EM YOUR WORST!"

Screams erupted around the sweat-soaked brunette as he stared into the eyes of his rival, focusing on nothing but the play that was running through his mind over and over. Then suddenly, a whistle blew and his mind went blank. He focused on the ball, and almost immediately it was headed straight for Turner. A roar went up as the ball was passed to and from the Ohio team before finally reaching the striker again (Ulrich) and shooting toward the goal.

"And Ohio wins! Twenty-five to sixteen!" an announcer shouted into the mike.

"WE **WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON**!" yelled Turner. Ulrich pumped his fist in the air and zoomed across the field in a happy fury (a/n: oxymoronic, isn't it? if that's even a word… psh, oxymoronic)

Yumi watched, her hands pressed to her mouth, concealing her smile as Ulrich darted to where she, Odd, Aelita, Jeremy, Sam, and Jessie were seated in the stands, right on the edge of the field with only the 3 and a half foot wall protected them from any mislead ball. He wrapped his arms around her and pressed his lips to hers. She didn't even care that he was sweaty and in _really_ bad need of a shower. She just kissed back happily.

"Thank you," he whispered hoarsely.

"Um… You're welcome?" she laughed. He grinned and jogged back onto the field to shake hands with the other team.

๑۞๑OoººoOLaTeROoººoO๑۞๑

"Ah. That felt great," Turner sighed, flopping onto an unoccupied couch.

"Eew! You're still wet!" Jessie whined as he stretched and yawned. Ulrich came in, holding a towel to the side of his head as he plodded toward the fridge in his baggy sweatpants and muscle shirt. Turner himself was wearing an old T-shirt and a pair of baggy shorts. Yumi and Sam were in camis and shorts while Aelita was curled up in a pair of flannel pants and a T-shirt. Jeremy and Odd were both wearing pants and T-shirts.

Ulrich pulled out a bottle of water and dropped onto the couch where Yumi was sitting **(a/n: Sam & Odd are on a couch together as well as Jeremy & Aelita and Turner & Jessie)** and put his head in her lap. Unscrewing the lid, he took a big gulp of water from the bottle.

"Spill any of that on me and I'll kill you in your sleep tonight," Yumi threatened with a hard glare. Ulrich shrugged and capped it again before setting it on the carpeted floor. Her fingers threaded through his hair as they each enjoyed the silence individually . . . until Odd decided to burst into song.

"BREAK BREAK BREAK BREAK BREAK-"

They all groaned and Jeremy plugged his ears. After about two seconds, Sam's mouth was covering Odd's and his eyes were as big as saucers. Turner cupped his hands around his mouth and made a catcall as Sam pressed against her boyfriend. They all laughed when Odd closed his eyes and started to wrap his arms around her waist. Sam quickly pulled away and padded over to the fridge in fuzzy red socks.

"But-"

Odd was silenced when Sam threw a carrot at his head.

๑۞๑OoººoOThE nExT dAyOoººoO๑۞๑

Yumi buried her head deeper into Ulrich's chest.

"I don't want to leave," she mumbled. He chuckled.

"It's only for twenty-four hours, Yumi. Not a lifetime."

"I still don't wanna."

He pulled her away from him and held her at arms length. Tears threatened to fall from her large brown-black eyes. A few yards away, Sam called to her from beside a taxi.

"Go on, Yumi," he whispered, giving her a peck on the lips.

"No," she said defiantly into his mouth, crossing her arms as he tried to pull her closer.

He sighed, "Yumi if you don't go, we won't get married."

"But-"

"No! Go," he said, pointing to the taxi. When she started to cry, he groaned, "Not the puppy dog eyes. Spare me Yumi, it's only for a day." He wrapped her in his arms as Aelita came up to them with Jeremy at her side.

"Yumi, each minute you spend hanging on to Ulrich, we'll add ten more minutes until you see him again," Aelita stated firmly. Yumi let go as fast as possible, kissed Ulrich once more, and sprinted toward the car.

Jeremy grinned, "I knew that would get her going."

Ulrich laughed while Odd came up after Aelita gave Jeremy a light kiss on the cheek before hurrying off to join Yumi and Sam.

"You think she'll survive?" Odd smirked as the car drove off, all three waving hysterically.

"She'd better," Ulrich said, raising his hand as the cab vanished over a steep hill. They stood there for a few seconds until Turner popped his head out of the door.

"Hey, do you know where Jess went, Ulrich?"

The brunette shoved his hands in his pockets and turned toward the house, "Yeah. She had to go visit her dad today. Why?"

"Oh yeah. I completely forgot!"

"Sooo…" Odd said after a few minutes of silence, "Wanna play a little soccer?" They all looked at each other and exchanged a meaningful smile before they started to race each other to the field, each of them screaming that they were going to win.

๑۞๑OoººoOLaTeR wItH tHe GiRlSOoººoO๑۞๑

"What do you think he's doing now?"

"Yumi, you've been asking that for the past four hours, let it go!" Sam said, peeking into the window of a store, "Oooo, cute purse."

"Sam!"

Aelita and Sam ignored the pouting Yumi and briskly walked on, shopping bags dangling from their arms. Yumi wrapped her arms around herself and shuffled after them. A solitary black bag hung from Yumi's arm. In it was a disposable camera that Aelita and Sam had insisted she buy. It wasn't that she didn't _like_ to go shopping. Just that today wasn't the time. Especially when Ulrich wasn't with her. _Ulrich_…

Her bottom lip stuck out in a pout as she trailed behind her two friends into a store. They split up, exploring every piece of merchandise there until Sam screamed, "OH. MY. GOSH." Yumi and Aelita stuck their heads above the racks of clothes to see where Sam was. Aelita was closer, and she trotted over to where the girl was and suddenly started laughing.

"You _so_ have to get them!" Aelita said breathlessly between laughs.

"What?" Yumi inquired, threading her way through the racks.

"Nothing!" Sam giggled, hurrying off to the register, "You'll see tomorrow!" Yumi sent Aelita a questioning gaze, but it was only returned by a sweet, innocent smile.

"You guys stink."

"Yumi?" a voice gasped from behind, "Aelita?" Aelita peered around Yumi, who looked over her shoulder at the tall raven-haired boy behind her.

"Thomas?" Aelita whispered, "Is that you?" A pretty brunette walked up behind her and pinched her sides. Aelita squealed and jerked around.

Yumi smiled, "Hello, and who might you be?"

"I don't know. But aren't you the girl who gets married tomorrow?" the girl grinned.

"Well maybe I am. Aren't you Rachel Madison though?"

"Hmmm… hard to say," Rachel paused, "DUH! Oh my gosh, I missed you guys so much!" Yumi and Aelita laughed as their famous friend hugged them.

Sam came up, shopping bag in hand, and almost dropped her purchases when Rachel gave her a hard hug too. Thomas pretended to pout, "Well gee, I feel loved." Rachel grinned and kissed his cheek before pulling his hood over his head.

"HEY!" he whined, his voice getting muffled as she pulled the strings on it and tightened it so they could only see his nose. He pulled it open again and stuck his tongue out at her.

"Oh yeah! Thomas, the guys are at Ulrich's place until the wedding. We can phone him- no, not you, Yumi-" Aelita said, sending Yumi's face from a happy hopeful to a depressing crushed, "and tell him you're coming, if you like."

"Cool. We were going to grab a hotel room, but that seems better. Keys please," he said, holding out his hand. Rachel pulled them from her pocket.

"Ding my car, you die," she warned, gnashing her teeth.

"All righty then. I'll call Odd then," Sam said, pulling out a sleek black camera phone. She walked out of the store (there wasn't service inside) and came back after a few minutes. "It's all set. Have fun!"

Rachel went with him to the car to get her bag and met back up with the girls once she had said goodbye. They all traveled down the line of store and when they didn't see anything they liked, they hailed a cab and drove to the hotel they'd be staying at overnight.

๑۞๑OoººoOOvEr WiTh ThE gUySOoººoO๑۞๑

"SCOOOOOOOORE!" Ulrich yelled, giving Odd a high-five as he raced back to the middle of the field, brushing grass off his back. Odd rubbed his head, having used it as a soccer ball's trampoline moments before to make a goal.

"Oh yeah! We're _killing_ you, guys!" Odd laughed, smirking at their rivals, Jeremy and Turner.

"Let's call it a game," Turner panted, flopping on the lush green grass before worming his way over to a bench and grabbing his water bottle. The bench started shaking as a horrible sound filled the air.

"ODD YOUR PHONE IS RINGING!" Ulrich hollered, walking over and taking it from it's place on the bench. "IT'S SAM!" he said, reading the caller ID.

"Give it here!" Odd called, holding up his hands. Ulrich threw it to him and he caught it just before it slipped through his fingers. Jeremy slowly walked over to Ulrich and Turner, his breath coming in short gasps. He leaned over and put his hands on his knees.

"I'm going to stick to computers from now on," he wheezed, pushing up his glasses before they fell off his sweat-drenched face.

Ulrich smiled, his eyes closing so that he looked like something from an anime or manga book, "You do that, buddy. Then we'll get a reduced price when you go to start a business of your own." Jeremy glared up at him as Odd came up, still talking.

"Mmhmm. Yeah. Uh-huh. Okay, got it. Yep. All right. Love you too, bye," he hung up and pushed the phone into the pocket of his jeans, "Thomas' coming, Ulrich."

"Awesome!" Ulrich grinned, pumping a fist in the air. They were quiet for a second.

Odd's mouth twitched, "I'm hungry."

"Me too," Turner said, standing up.

Jeremy straightened up, "Well we know what that means."

They all looked at each other and smiled slyly, "PIZZA!"

๑۞๑OoººoOBeDtImE wItH tHe GiRlSOoººoO๑۞๑

Yumi groaned and stretched out on one of the hotel beds. Leave it to the guys to make sure they had three beds and a pull-out couch . . . and four bathrooms . . . and a built-in Jacuzzi . . . and a 76" plasma flat screen . . . and a butler to top it all off.

"Nobody say the words 'unlimited room service' around me ever again," Aelita groaned from her position on the floor. Rachel sat in front of the TV, clutching a pillow and staring wide-eyed at the screen.

"No Anna! He's a player! You'll get your heart broken!" she said, squeezing the pillow tighter. Sam groped around in the bowl of candy, retrieved the remote and turned off the TV.

"Come on, Rachel, time for bed. We have a big day tomorrow. Or at least, Yumi does." They all looked over at the bride-to-be . . . who was fast asleep. Rachel laughed and rubbed her eyes before climbing into a bed.

"You sure you don't want me to take the couch, Sam?" she yawned.

"I'm fine. Besides, it's made of down feathers."

"You suck," Rachel let out a small laugh. Two seconds later, she and Aelita were both asleep, Aelita having barely made it under the covers before she was taken captive by the sandman. Sam smirked and looked out of the large wall-sized window onto the beautiful view of the city at night.

"Goodnight, guys," she whispered before crawling into her bed and drifting off to sleep, leaving the room a mess as was the custom of a night out with the girls.

๑۞๑OoººoOBeDtImE wItH tHe GuYsOoººoO๑۞๑

"No Anna! He's a player! You'll get your heart broken!" **(1)** Thomas said, hugging a pillow as he sat in front of the TV. Turner and Ulrich were sprawled out on separate couches, fast asleep. Jeremy was sitting in a chair (also asleep) with his glasses in danger of falling off his nose (yet again). Odd was flat on his back, snoring on the carpeted floor (he had fallen asleep after devouring three whole pizzas by himself and, of course, after the sugar rush wore off). Thomas looked behind him at his friends and forced himself to turn off the TV. He pulled Jeremy's glasses off the genius' face and put them on the table beside the chair. He picked up the empty coke cans scattered around a sleeping Odd and put them on the coffee table before collapsing on a nearby couch and letting himself be whisked off to dreamland where the pretty dancing pancakes and fluffy pink poodles waited to welcome him.

๑۞๑OoººoOMoRnInG wItH yUmIOoººoO๑۞๑

The sunlight shone through her eyelids, casting orange shadows on her vision. Yumi opened her eyes and squinted, finding herself facing an open window that looked out upon the city. She rolled onto her back, her arms spread out wide as the sheets tightened around her waist and legs. She turned her head to look at the clock, stopped, and stared at the ceiling.

"I'm getting married today . . ."

**I'll end it here… heh… sorry about the really long wait. It took me a little too long to finish this… but I did, at least. There you are! Chapter 29! I hope you liked it! Review, even if you have something bad to say, please!**

**This is the same thing Rachel said, if you remember.**

**PS. Thank you LadyKyra13 for being Rachel! I don't know if you're reading this, but I hope you're still there. I saw your account. Please come back if you can. You're a great girl!**

**-Mi ChIbO-**

**beep...**


	30. I Do

**Disclaimer: I don't own Code: Lyoko. If I did, Ulrich and Yumi would already be together. But they aren't. So you know I don't own it. I also don't own anything else that isn't mine. Everything ELSE though (the stuff I do own) is mine and mine only. Except for Rachel. She belongs to LadyKyra13 because she IS LadyKyra13. Wow, who would have thought? Well, I'll shut up and let you read. Apologies for the long wait are at the bottom. Happy reading!**

She took a deep breath and let it out. Her heart beat wildly in her chest as she tried to remember her lines. What was it again? I don't care? Eyes do? Oh… that's right…

"I do."

"Save it for the wedding, Yumi."

Yumi opened her eyes to see her best friends grinning at her from all corners of the car. She huffed.

"But the ride is taking so loooooong," she whined.

"Well you can waaaaaaaait," Rachel grinned, "Besides, Ulrich is probably more nervous than you are."

"Why?"

"Because he has to wait forever before he gets to see you! I mean, all the bridesmaids and groomsmen have to process in before you; not to mention the flower girl and the ring bearer," Sam pointed out.

"So?" Yumi pouted, "I have to get in that big old dress…"

"Imagine how he feels in a _black tux _in the _middle of the summer_," Aelita smirked.

"We're here, ladies," the cab driver said. They all filed out and Sam paid for the ride.

Yumi looked up at the building, "Why are we at the back of the church?"

"Because no one can see the bride before the wedding except the bridesmaids. Now come on, let's go in. We had the dresses delivered yesterday," Aelita said.

They walked quietly through the halls and came to a stop by a tall mahogany door. Sam knocked twice and the door opened.

Yumi's mother poked her head out and smiled, "Come in girls."

Yumi and the others slipped in and suddenly there came a shriek and Yumi was caught in a death grip.

"Yumi, darling, how are you? It's been so long since I've seen you! Now look at you: all grown up and about to be blissfully married!"

"Ms. Karen?" Yumi gasped. The person pulled away and revealed herself as a petite woman to whom Sam bore a striking resemblance. Yumi stared, taking in the thought of Sam's mom coming to her wedding.

"Yes, dear! I'm going to be doing your hair and makeup!"

"Oh! Right! I forgot I told Sam to take care of booking someone for that…" Yumi smiled.

"Sit down, Yumi," Rachel said, "it's time to make you beautiful."

bRrEaK

Ulrich looked at his watch again. Letting his arm swing back down to his side, he started tapping his foot impatiently. Suddenly, the door opened and Thomas poked his head in.

"It's time," Thomas grinned.

Ulrich nodded and got up to follow him through the halls. They met Odd, Jeremy, Turner, Aelita, Sam, Rachel, and Jessie (she had met the girls at the church about 30 minutes after they arrived).

"Is Yumi ready?" Thomas asked.

"Yeah, she's waiting for the signal. The countdown's starting……." Rachel paused to look at her watch, "Now."

"Ten…" they all whispered softly, "Nine…"

Eight…

Seven…

Six…

Five…

Four…

Three…

Two…

"One," Ulrich murmured. The doors opened and he stepped through them with a newfound confidence.

bReAk

"Yumi?"

"Yes father?"

"They're ready for us."

"All right."

Yumi walked through the same doors Ulrich had gone through just minutes before. Ulrich stared from his position at the altar.

She was dressed in a traditional white dress, glittering with small sequins that dotted the bodice here and there. The lower part of the dress wrapped loosely around her thighs and fanned out into a train with a slit up the front that reached to mid-shin. Her glossy black hair bas pulled up into a bun, soft curls falling around it. A white rose was twisted into the center of the bun as well as a small clump of baby's breath.

Her veil fell mysteriously across her face, hiding her from view.

She took small steps until she reached him.

The ceremony went smoothly and without disruption. When it came time for the "I do"s, Yumi spoke flawlessly and it was time for the grand finish…

"I pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."

Ulrich lifted her veil carefully and saw her eyes, shinning with love, crinkling at the edges as she smiled warmly at him.

He swept her up in his arms and kissed her.

The audience burst into applause and the groomsmen started to make catcalls.

**EARRGH!!! So SHORT!! I'm sorry guys! It took so long for me to update and everything because my life just went down the toilet and apparently the sewage treatment plant was out of order… in other words, my life sucks and it isn't getting any better at the moment. So… yeah… I'm really sorry. It's been forever, I know, and the chapter was way too short. I may not be writing Code Lyoko anymore… I'll finish this story, of course! I have big plans for the next 20 chapters… yes, this'll end up as a 50-chapter story. I'm sooooooo sorry though! I feel so bad! Please review, though! I want to know that you're still reading this, even it I'm the worst person alive!!! Bye.**

**-Mi ChIbO-**

**beep…**


	31. Author's Note NOT A CHAPTER

_**Hello peoples.**_

**Yeaah… I'm really sorry I haven't been updating for… er… how long has it been? Oh. 5+ months. Ummm… hehe? Okay look, I'm really sorry to keep you from reading. But my life has been really hectic. Family, friends, joining stuffs, etc, etc.**

**So I'm going to make it up to you… in a way. Here's what I'm proposing: I'm going to finish writing this story. But there's a catch—I won't be updating until I've completed it. Epilogue and all. (sorry, I'm not promising a sequel…yet). When I'm done, I'll separate the writing into chapters (I'll stop at 50, no matter what and 51 will be the epilogue. Mkay? Mkay). Then, I'll post a new chapter every week (I'm thinking Saturday) unless, for some reason, I'm grounded (now why would that happen? XD). In that case, I'll post two the next week. Fair enough? I hope so.**

**So tell me what you think. Sorry again for taking so long. My motivation has abandoned me. ::insert evil glare::**

**I hope you'll all forgive me. Please? **_**Pretty **_**please? I understand if you don't.**

**But still. I'll see you around! It shouldn't take more than a month to finish this, but with school starting up again, I dunno… Oh well. Bye!**

**-Mi ChIbO-**

**beep…**


	32. Goodbye To Everyone

Hey guys –

I'm sorry to say that I'll be quitting FanFiction. In a matter of days, all of my stories will be off of the site, just in case someone tries to steal them. If you really, _really _want to finish a story of mine (I think only Into The Goal is left…) or write a sequel to something then review and/or PM me. Otherwise, all of my stories will be gone by next Friday. I'm really sorry everyone, but I really need to focus on my school work right now. Just as well, my personal life can get really complicated. I appreciate everything you guys have done for me. I'm so glad I got to experience this! I love all you guys to death, but things have happened that have made me think twice about my life. I need to spend all the time I can with my loved ones and do my best because you never know, today just might be your last chance to say "I love you" to someone. In seconds, people can be taken away and I'm sorry to tell you, life doesn't come with a restart button. Well, I wish I could say more, but I just don't know what… I feel awful leaving all you guys like this. You were the best! I loved it while it was happening. I'll leave my account up, though it won't have any of my stories on it, so you guys can still keep in touch. It breaks my heart to have to do this, but I know that if I don't, I'd just be lying to myself that I'll actually get back to what I'm doing. It surprises me that I actually finished so many stories (yeah, I'm a procrastinator… so sue me! XD). And that they were so popular! I never would have expected so much so much enthusiasm from you guys! It made me feel good about what I was doing. I'm so glad that you guys enjoyed my stories as much as I enjoyed reading each and every review you guys posted. I can't seem to stop saying "THANK YOU" and "I LOVE YOU GUYS!" I know you're probably going to hate me after this (if you don't already) but I'm finished lying. I'm just not into Code Lyoko any more. I'm feeling awful about everything, but there's been a gap in my heart – like a building left unfinished that could topple at any second. It doesn't feel to great. Just writing this letter-ish thing of apology is making me start to feel better. Maybe someday I'll come back. If I don't, this is my final goodbye and – I know, I know, I've said this at least twenty times already – I LOVE YOU GUYS SOOOOOO MUCH! Keep writing! You all have so much talent! I hope I don't put anyone off of fanfiction and even if you skipped all of my rambling above, I hope you consider telling everyone you love them. I didn't mean to sound pessimistic above, but it's still true: Tell everyone you love them, because it might be your last chance to let them know. I speak from experience. A very close friend of mine had her mom pass away back in August (you know who you are… love you loads! Hugs and kisses sent your way each and every day[ahem… dearly, not queerly). It made me realize there is more to life than just living. I'm going to do everything I can to make my life the best it can be. I hope you guys continue writing. I'll pop in every now and then to see what you've written, so don't leave! And once again: I LOVE YOU GUYS TO PIECES. I couldn't have asked for any better response than what you gave me. If I ever see you (er… well… hear from you…) again, I hope our words will be positive! Hearts to everyone.

**-Mi ChIbo-**

(Mi Chibo)

beep…


	33. MY LAST AUTHOR'S NOTE

Yeah, yeah… I know what you're thinking: Mi ChIbO is a big fat liar.

Well, I guess you're right… heh.

Okay, this has to be short because I'm in the middle of a very important school assignment now, but here's the gist of it: Due to… popular vote… I have decided to leave my stories up on FanFiction.

Please, hold the applause – I don't deserve it. Hah!

One of my dear friends on FanFiction, Mylinda Antoinette, will be taking over one of my stories (Into the Goal or Royal Pain) or both!

I thank her dearly for supporting my decision to leave FF (well, not LEAVE, but to stop writing).

Well, I told you this was going to be short! I love you all (dearly, not queerly) and I hope you have a lovely school year! PEACE! And remember – if you have a REALLY good idea for a sequel or chapter or something, blah blah blah… just PM me your idea! I'd love to hear it!

Thanks guys.

-Mi ChIbO-


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